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Social  Sciences  &  Humanities  Library 

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MAC 

LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE 
SUNSET    LAND 


PEOPLE  WORTH    KNOWING. 


Rev.   N.   R.   Johnston. 


Oakland,  California. 

189S. 


To  My  Wife 

who  has  ever  been  my  loving  and  faithful 
companion  and  indispensable  co-vVorker  in^ 
all  life's  toils,  my  wise  counselor  in  times 
of  doubt,  my  tender  sympathizer  in  time 
of  trouble,  and  who  has  lightened  many 
of  my  burdens  that  I  could  not  haVe  borne 
alone,  this  book  is  most  affectionately 
dedicated   by 

The  Author. 


PREFACE. 

Horace  Greeley  said  that  "no  man  should  die  without 
planting  a  tree  or  writing  a  book."  I  have  planted  many  a 
tree  and  I  have  written  much  in  various  forms;  why  should  I 
not  write  a  book  also  ?  The  only  apology  I  feel  like  making 
is  that  it  has  in  it  so  much  about  myself.  But  if  I  had  not 
written  it  the  book  would  never  have  been  written.  If  any 
apology  is  due  to  the  reading  public  for  the  issue  of  such  a 
volume  at  all,  I  have  more  than  one.  I  owe  it  to  others  as 
well  as  myself  to  explain  or  account  for  several  occurrences 
in  my  life  as  known  to  the  church— events  that  were  not 
understood  then  and  that  yet  remain  unaccounted  for.  And 
then  I  desire  to  leave  on  record  a  narrative  of  events  that 
otherwise  would  be  unknown  to  my  survivors,  and  to  leave 
behind  me  a  testimony  in  behalf  of  truths  which,  however 
much  neglected  or  despised,  are  the  very  truths  of  God. 
In  no  other  way  can  I  now  be  of  use  to  my  children  and 
theirs  .some  of  whom  would  know  nothing  of  events  recorded 
herein  unless  told  to  them  by  the  writer. 

It  is  due  to  the  reader  to  know  that  this  volume  was 
written  when  life's  shadows  were  lengthening  out  rapidly. 
The  first  manuscripts  were  sketched  hastily  with  the  pencil 
on  Chinese  paper  during  the  winter  of  1896  and  '97  when 
the  writer  was  in  his  77th  year  and  in  feeble  health.  Well 
did  he  know  that  the  sands  of  Hfe  were  running  nearly  out. 
As  the  time  was  short  no  days  nor  even  hours  could  be  lost; 
and  hence  the  entire  work  was  done  in  haste  as  well  as  in 
the  midst  of  many  other  labors  all  the  time  pressing  their 
claims.  The  writer  hopes  therefore  that  the  literary  reader 
will  be  lenient  in  his  criticisms  of  the  book.  It  was  written 
not  .so  much  to  please  the  lovers  of  literature  as  to  benefit 
the  friends  of  truth  who  will  survive  the  writer. 


PORTRAITS 


N.  R.  Johnston Frontispiece 

Dr.  J.  R.  WiLLSOX Facing  page    65 


Dr.  R.  J.  DoDDS  .    .    . 
Wm.  Llovd  Garrison 
Rev.  Samuel  May  .   . 
Rev.  J.  M.  Armour  .   . 
Dr.  R.  G.  McNiece  .    . 
Wendell  Phillips  .    . 
Dr.   S.   O.  Wylie  .   .   . 
Corporal  Divoll  .    .    . 
Dr.  R.  a.  Browne  .   . 
Dr.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane  . 
Dr.  Otis  Gibson  .    .    . 
Dr.  a.  M.  Milligan  . 
Rev.  Geo.  M.  Elliott 
Dr.  David  Metheny  . 

Wm.  Still 

Rev.  Jee  Gam 

Rev.  Chan  Hon  Fan  . 


189 
200 
204 
209 
240 
257 
277 
36S 

392 
26 
480 
492 
516 
617 
568 
592 
598 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER. 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 
XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 
XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 
XXIII. 
XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII 

XXIX 

XXX 

XXXI 

XXXII 


Page, 

Foreshadowings  and  Ancestry 9" 

Early  Education ^^ 

A  New  Home  in  tlie  West ^ 

At  the  University ^ 

Two  YearsofaTeaclier's  Life    .    .     ...     '    '    '        J 

Tlieological  Studies ^ 

Summer  Vacation 

The  Third  Year  and  Fellow-students 77 

Response  to  Freedom's  Call 

Fourth  Year  of  Theological  Study 1°° 

Licensure  and  Evangelistic  Work  •••;••    "  '"^ 
The   Fugitive   Slave   Law   and    the    Underground^^ 

Railroad 

The  Licentiate's  Work  and  Jottings    .    .    .    •    •    •    •  ^3^ 
Home   Again.     Old    Field    Revisited      Afflictions 

and  Trials  of  Faith ^^o 

The  Field.     The  Decision.     The  Ordination  .    .    .  i55 

The  Flock  and  the  Shepherd's  Work 162 

The  Field  Widens    , |^^ 

In  Sorrow  and  in  Straits '  ^ 

Church  Work J^" 

Work  for  the  Slave ^J^ 

Under  the  Father's  Rod ^°^ 

Busy  Days 

Work  at  Home  and  in  the  Courts 222 

Eventful  Days • J^ 

The  Winter  Is  Past.     Joyous  Spring  Comes  ...  247 

Wendell  Phillips.     Anniversaries 257 

The  Trumpet  Blown.     To  Arms  ! 265 

Unexpected  Call  to  Special  Duties 275 

"They  That  Go  Down  to  the  Sea  in  Ships"    ■    •    '     ^^ 

Among  the  "Contrabands" ^ 

The  Spelling-book,  the  Bible,  the  Sword  •  29O 

A  Little  Vacation.     Fort  Pulaski  Taken 309 

(vii) 


vin 


CONTENTS. 


XXXIII.  "What  Was  Slavery,  Uncle  Tom?" 316 

XXXIV.  Homeward  Bound.     Pastoral  Duties  Resumed  .    .  325 
XXXV.*  Trials  of  Faith.     Home  Duties 333 

XXXVI.     War  Problenns 342 

XXXVII.  Bloody  Scenes.     Pastoral  Life.     National  Reform  .  355 

XXXVIII.     Sad  Events  and  Dark  Shadows 367 

XXXIX.     In  Sad  Straits  and  Sadder  Partings 376 

XL.     A  New  Home  and  a  New  Work 381 

XLL     Pleasant    Recollections 396 

XLII.     Our  New  Field  of  Labor 408 

XLIII.     Geneva's  Old  Bell  Rings  Again 415 

XLIV.     In  the  Home  Mission  Field 429 

XLV.  Missionary  Work  among  the  Chinese  in  California  446 

XLVI.     Yo  Semite  Valley 461 

XLVII.     Mission  Work.and  a  Missionary  Tour 469 

XLVIII.     Lights  and  Shadows 484 

XLIX.     In  Memoriam 491 

L.     Home  Work  Resumed 497 

LI.     Southern  Missions  Visited 507 

LII.     Selma  and  Beaufort 515 

LIII.  The  Synod  of  1889.     Important  Questions    .    .    .    .526 

LIV.     White  Ribboners  and  Sabbath  Workers 532 

LV.     From  Ocean  to  Ocean 536 

LVI.     In  Philadelphia  as  a  Journalist 546 

LVII.     A  Family  Reunion 561 

LVIII.     New  Home  for  Our  Banner 572 

LIX.     Our  Pacific  Home  Again 580 

LX.  Missionaries  Sail  for  China.     Days  of  Gladness  .    .591 

LXI.     A  Chapter  of  Epistolary  Gems 600 

LXII.     Nearing  the  Sunset 616 


LOOKING  BACK Som™ SUNSET  LAND 

OR 

PEOPLE  WORTH  KNOWING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

FORESHADOWINGS    AND    AnCESTRY. 

On  the  inner  walls  of  our  cottage  home  haug  two  old 
pictures  and  fine  specimens  of  Scottish  art,  a  Covenanter 
Conventicle  and  the  battle  of  Drumclog.  On  other  walls 
hang  three  life-size  pictures  of  distinguished  men,  James 
Renwick  Willson,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  and  John  Brown. 
The  first  was  my  theological  professor,  a  genuine  Covenanter 
and  zealous  abolitionist.  The  second,  as  all  know,  was  the 
worthy  leader  in  the  great  anti-slavery  struggle;  and  the 
third  was  the  old  abolitionist  whom  the  Virginia  slavehold- 
ers hung  at  Charlestown  and  "whose  soul  is  still  marching 
on."  On  another  wall  hangs  a  smaller  picture,  a  portrait 
of  the  great  anti-slavery  orator,  Wendell  Phillips.  And 
over  there  hangs  an  ideal  picture  of  Mrs.  Stowe's  great 
hero,  Uncle  Tom,  and  beside  him  the  little  angel  Eva  saying 
to  him,  "What  was  slavery,  Uncle  Tom?"  And  yet  an- 
other, a  fine  oil  painting  of  an  old  castle,  the  artist  being 
a  Chinese  young  man,  a  Christian  convert  and  now  a  mer- 
chant in  San  Francisco.     Now  if  all  these  pictures  be  only 

(9) 


lO      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

a  slight  index  of  the  character  of  the  writer,  or  if  they  even 
sHghtly  foreshadow  the  character  of  this  volume,  the  reader's 
fears  may  be  excited  already,  and  so  perhaps  he  had  better 
close  the  book  and  read  no  more  lest  afterward  he  may  not 
know  when  to  stop. 

A  few  years  ago  when  in  conversation  with  a  daughter  of 
old  John  Brown  I  unwisely  asked  her  if  on  any  occasion  she 
had  ever  felt  ashamed  that  her  father  died  on  the  gallows. 
With  an  almost  indignant  expression  she  immediately  re- 
plied, "Never,  never  for  one  moment!"  And  why  should 
any  descendant  of  the  now  honored  martyr  to  freedom  be 
ashamed  ? 

Pride  of  ancestry  may  not  be  commendable,  3'et  I  confess 
that  as  a  Covenanter  I  always  shared  my  father's  pleasure  if 
nof  pride  when  I  heard  him  tell  our  friends  that  we  were 
lineal  descendants  of  Sir  Archibald  Johnston,  or  Lord  War- 
riston,  whom  the  enemies  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in 
Scotland  hung  in  Edinburg.  Of  such  the  world  was  not 
worthy. 

In  the  new  world  there  are  now  multitudes  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Sir  Archibald  Johnston  who  cherish  his  martyr 
memory  as  sacred.  Away  back  in  the  early  years  of  the 
American  Colonies  three  young  brothers,  all  Presbyterians, 
came  from  Scotland  and  settled  in  eastern  Pennsylvania. 
Their  names  were  Samuel,  Nathan,  and  Archibald  Johnston. 
They  were  descendants  of  the  martyr,  but  of  what  generation 
is  not  known  now.  Down  through  all  the  succeeding  gen- 
erations these  three  names  have  been  retained.  The  name 
of  my  father's  grandfather  was  Nathan;  his  father's  name, 
Samuel;  one  of  his  brother's,  Archibald.  Thus  it  is  proba. 
ble  that  they  all  wished  to  cherish  as  sacred*  the  memory  of 
their  martyred  ancestor;  nor  will  it  ever  be  forgotten  so  long 
as  Christian  men  and  women  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  Cove- 
nanter's "old  blue  banner." 


FORESHADOWINGS    AND    ANCESTRY.  II 

My  father,  Nathan  Johnston,  was  born  near  Carhsle,  Cum- 
berland County,  Pennsylvania,  in   1775.     Though  brought 
up  on  the  farm  with  his  father  he  subsequently  became  a 
tanner.     In  1801  he  was  married  to  Mary  Black,  the  daughter 
of  James  Black,  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.     She 
was  born  in  York  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  January,  1782. 
When  she  was  about  twelve  years  of  age  the  family  removed 
to  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania.      She  rode  the  en- 
tire distance  over  the  mountains  on  horseback.     They  set- 
tled on  a  farm  on  a  part  of  which  the  town  of  Blairsville  is 
built  and  now  in  Indiana  County.      It  was  in  this  new  home 
that  the  happy  couple  were  married  when  she  was  nineteen 
years  of  age.     After  their  marriage  they  resided  at  Armagh, 
Pennsylvania.     Here,  after  the  birth  of  their  first  child  they 
united    with   the    Presbyterian    Church.      Probably  in    the 
spring  of  1805  Grandfather  Black  and  family  and  my  father 
with  his  small  family  removed  to  eastern  Ohio,  at  that  time 
almost  an  unbroken  wilderness.     They  bought  unimproved 
and  adjoining  lands  in  what  is  now  Harrison  County.     They 
began  by  cutting  away  the  forest  trees  and  building  small 
log  cabins  for  present  use.     After  some  years,  when  sufficient 
lands  were  cleared  out,  my  father  planted  a  large  orchard, 
opened  a  tan  yard  and  built  a  good-sized  "hewed  log  house." 
Here  I  was  born  October  8,  1820,  the  youngest  of  a  family 
of  eight  children,  seven  sons  and  one  daughter.     The  three 
first   sons    were  John    Black,    Samuel    Power,    and   James 
Stewart.     The  three  next  sons  all   died   in  infancy.     The 
seventh  child  was  a  daughter,  Mary  Jane;  and  the  youngest 
son,  Nathan  Robinson.     The  first  name  was  for  my  father, 
the  second  in  honor  of  a  much  beloved  uncle,  Robert  Robin- 
son, who  married   my  mother's   sister;  and  my  parents  all 
their  lives  called  me  Robinson,  the  n  being  silent. 

It  is  not  designed  to  make  these  pages  a  genealogy  or  a 
history  of  either  ancestors  or  descendants,  yet  as  the  writer 


12  LOOKING    BACK    FROM   THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

is  the  only  surviving  member  of  his  father's  family  it  is  due 
to  those  who  may  read  these  pages  in  coming  years  that  the 
thread  of  the  narrative  be  broken  for  a  little  and  that  a  few 
items  of  tradition  or  unwritten  history  be  given  here. 

My  great-grandfather,  Nathan  Johnston,  and  his  wife, 
Blizabeth  Power,  were  killed  by  the  Indians  in  the  time  of 
the  old  French  war  in  Pennsylvania,  and  under  these  circum- 
stances. Many  of  the  settlers  had  taken  refuge  in  a  fort  at 
■or  near  the  present  site  of  Shippensburg;  but  sometimes 
when  the  danger  seemed  to  be  slight  some  of  them  visited 
their  new  farms  to  look  after  their  stock  or  growing  crops. 

Taking  his  wife  and  seven  children  he  went  to  his  farm, 
seven  miles  distant,  to  care  for  his  growing  corn  and  stock. 
Fearing  that  they  might  be  attacked  by  the  Indians  in  the 
night,  the  parents  put  the  children  to  bed  in  the  haymow  in 
the  barn,  while  they  themselves  slept  in  the  house.  One 
morning  before  sunrise  the  children  were  startled  by  the 
crack  of  two  rifle  shots  almost  at  the  same  moment.  Samuel, 
the  oldest  boy,  hastily  looking  out  between  the  logs  of  the 
barn,  saw  his  mother  near  the  house  fall  dead,  and  saw  the 
Indian  run  and  scalp  her.  What  had  been  done  by  the  other 
gun  he  did  not  know  then.  The  mother  was  thought  to  have 
been  shot  while  in  the  act  of  holding  a  ewe  sheep  that  her 
lamb  might  suck.  As  soon  as  the  Indians  had  fled,  the  boy 
being  too  much  frightened  to  risk  the  danger  of  going  to  the 
house,  left  the  other  children  concealed  in  the  barn,  and 
fled  to  the  fort  to  report  to  the  inmates.  When  some  of 
these  went  to  the  place,  they  found  the  dead  body  of  the 
husband  and  father  in  a  grove  not  far  from  the  house,  and  in 
the  kneeling  posture  beside  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree.  Evi- 
dently he  had  been  shot  while  engaged  in  morning  secret 
prayer. 

His  son  Samuel  probably  never  forgave  the  Indians  their 
bloody  deed,  but  may  have  always  cherished  the  spirit  of 


FORESHADOWINGS    AND    ANCESTRY.  I3. 

revenge.  As  the  hostilities  between  the  whites  and  Indians 
continued  a  long  time,  on  one  occasion  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  kill  an  Indian.  A  company  of  the  warriors  had 
invaded  the  country  at  night,  killed  some  of  the  people, 
and  carried  away  much  booty.  The  next  day  a  company  of 
the  whites,  mostly  farmers,  armed  themselves,  got  on  the 
trail  of  the  fleeing  Indians,  and  late  in  the  night  came  upon 
them  when  fast  asleep  around  their  camp-fire  on  low  ground,. 
According  to  previous  arrangements  the  whites  quietly  took 
their  position  on  higher  ground  and  almost  surrounding  the 
camp-fire  and  the  sleeping  warriors.  Each  man  took  aim 
at  his  picked  Indian.  At  the  signal  given  by  the  captain 
they  all  fired  at  the  same  moment.  The  Indians  who  were 
not  killed  seized  their  blankets,  guns,  etc.,  and  in  flight 
attempted  to  escape.  One  of  them  was  met  face  to  face  by 
my  grandfather,  Samuel  Johnston.  A  hand-to-hand  fight- 
ensued.  The  Indian,  who  would  not  be  taken  prisoner,  was 
killed. 

The  victor  became  possessor  of  the  spoils,  and  brought 
home  all  worth  possessing.  My  father  fell  heir  to  the  In- 
dian's powder  horn  and  shot  pouch.  They  were  beautiful 
specimens  of  art,  and  I  had  expected  to  inherit  them,  but 
they  were  given  to  his  grandson,  Nathan  M.  Johnston,  who 
bore  my  father's  name.  I  found  them  in  his  possession  long 
years  after  the  death  of  the  donor.  I  tried  to  be  reconciled' 
when  I  considered  that  they  were  only  relics  of  war,  of  cruel 
and  revengeful  war  against  a  race  as  noble  by  nature  as  the 
noblest  savages,  and  who,  if  Christians  had  dealt  justly  and 
kindly  with  them,  offering  them  the  gospel  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  instead  of  the  revengeful  sword,  might  have  been 
partakers  with  us  of  the  blessings  of  salvation.  Indeed, 
with  honorable  exceptions  the  history  of  the  aborigines  of 
our  country  is  but  the  history  of  wrongs  endured  by  the 
redmen — wrongs  inflicted  by  both  government  and  people- 


14  I.OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    I.AND. 

who  profess  to  believe  in  the  Golden  Rule  as  well  as  in  the 
gospel  of  peace. 

Until  several  years  after  all  their  children  were  born  and 
baptized  my  parents  continued  in  the  membership  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  My  three  brothers  also  were  members 
of  the  Beechspring  Presbyterian  Church,  Reverend  James 
Rea  pastor.  Before  these  years  the  denomination  in  the 
United  States  had  used  the  Psalms  of  the  Bible  in  worship. 
As  in  the  Beechspring  church  many  were  opposed  to  the 
introduction  of  "Watt's  Psalms"  or  hymns  of  any  kind,  these 
were  introduced  gradually  and  cautiously.  Bible  songs 
were  used  during  both  forenoon  and  afternoon  services  until 
after  the  second  sermon,  when  a  hymn  or  one  of  "Watt's 
Psalms"  was  sung.  After  a  while  only  hymns  were  sung. 
The  change  was  the  occasion  of  no  little  opposition.  Some 
of  the  families  never  gave  up  the  Bible  Psalms  in  family 
worship. 

A  little  incident  which  I  remember  of  hearing  my  father 
tell  may  amuse  the  reader.  When  the  hymns  were  first 
introduced,  books  were  very  scarce  as  well  as  very  costly. 
The  pastor  was  almost  the  only  one  who  had  a  copy  of  the 
liymn-book;  so  the  lines  had  to  be  read  that  the  people 
might  sing.  My  father  was  the  precentor.  He  stood  in  the 
pulpit  and  used  the  minister's  book  when  reading  out  the 
lines.  One  day  he  came  to  a  verse  from  which  one  or  two 
lines  were  lost.  The  precentor  turned  around  to  the  pastor 
and  called  his  attention  to  the  omission  and  asked  what  he 
should  do.  "Oh,  just  make  a  line  and  read  it!"  He  did 
so,  read  it  out  as  if  it  were  in  the  book,  and  the  people  sang 
it,  supposing  it  to  be  part  of  Dr.  Watt's  poetry. 

About  this  time  the  question  of  slavery  began  to  agitate 
the  churches.  The  question  was  twofold — whether  chattel 
slavery  was  a  sin  "par  se"  or  not,  and  whether  slaveholders 
should    be  admitted    to  church-membership  or  retained   in 


FORESHADOWINGS   AND    ANCESTRY:  15 

"her  fellowship.  At  this  time  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church 
in  both  the  north  and  the  south,  all  one  body  as  yet,  fel- 
lowshiped  slaveholders.  Very  few  saw  any  impropriety  in 
it.  Even  the  pulpits  justified  it.  Not  a  few  ministers  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  apologized  for  it  or  defended  it  by 
the  Bible.  In  the  south  many  ministers  held  slaves,  few  if 
any  objecting  to  it.  Nathan  Johnston  was  one  of  the  few 
early  abolitionists  and  soon  became  so  dissatisfied  with  his 
church  because  of  her  position  on  slavery  that  he  became 
restless  and  was  thinking  of  withdrawing  from  her  fellow- 
ship. It  is  probable  that  his  friends  thought  to  allure  him 
into  pohtics,  for  previously  they  had  nominated  him  on  the 
Whig  ticket  for  the  State  Legislature.  At  the  election  his 
competitor,  a  Democrat,  was  chosen  by  a  majority  of  one. 
This  occurred  probably  before  I  was  born,  or  when  I  was 
only  a  child.  I  never  knew  of  it  until  I  was  a  young  man; 
and  I  have  often  regretted  that  when  I  had  the  opportunity 
I  did  not  talk  with  my  father  about  it.  And  I  have  some- 
times thought  that  if  the  majority  of  one  had  been  in  favor 
of  the  Whig  candidate  and  my  father  had  gone  into  the  Leg- 
islature, he  never  would  have  become  a  Covenanter.  Civil 
ofhce  and  pohtical  dissent  are  not  twin  brothers.  That  one 
ballot  seemed  like  a  lot  determining  the  future  of  the  un- 
successful candidate.  "The  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap;  but  the 
whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the  Lord." 

About  this  time  a  few  Covenanters  settled  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  agitated  the  question  of  slavery  and  the  duty 
of  withdrawal  from  a  slaveholding  church  and  from  an 
anti-Christian  government  whose  Constitution  was  full  of 
pro-slavery  compromises.  How  much  influence  the  early 
Covenanter  settlers  had  upon  the  mind  of  Nathan  Johnston 
and  his  wife  and  three  sons  is  not  known  to  the  writer,  who 
at  that  time  was  only  a  small  child,  but  most  probably  they 
had  much.     Whether  or  not,  we  find  this  anti-slavery  Pres- 


1 6  I<OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

byterian  attending  the  Covenanter  "society  meetings,"  as 
the  prayer-meetings  were  called.  Meanwhile  it  is  probable 
the  family  had  been  attending  occasional  preaching  by 
Covenanter  ministers  sent  as  supplies  to  the  praying  society; 
and  perhaps  this  had  helped  to  swell  the  tide  of  influences 
leading  to  a  change  in  their  church  relations. 

The  next  time  we  hear  of  Nathan  Johnston  is  when  on  a 
two  days'  journey  on  foot  to  attend  a  communion  in  one  of 
the  Covenanter  congregations  in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburg. 
Here  he  was  received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church  which  had  never  opened  her  doors  to 
slaveholders,  and  whose  members  would  not  swear  oaths  of 
allegiance  to  the  Constitution  or  Government,  nor  accept  of 
oiflce  or  the  ballot  in  a  political  society  that  disregarded  the 
rights  of  God  and  trampled  upon  the  rights  of  man.  It 
could  not  have  been  very  long  after  this  change  that  my 
two  oldest  brothers,  John  Black  and  Samuel  Power,  followed 
the  example  of  my  father  and  united  with  the  Covenanter 
Church.  My  mother,  however,  and  her  third  son,  James 
Stewart,  were  slow  to  give  up  the  hymns  and  to  leave  the 
mother  church,  and  did  not  for  some  time,  but  after  a  while, 
becoming  so  imbued  with  anti-slavery  and  Covenanter 
truths  they  gladly  joined  the  ranks  of  the  abolitionists  and 
political  dissenters.  For  the  entire  family  the  change  must 
have  been  a  severe  ordeal.  Almost  all  the  family  connec- 
tions on  both  sides  of  the  house,  from  grandparents  down, 
were  Presbyterians.  Most  of  them  were  men  and  women  of 
warm  piety  and  great  worth.  Devoted  to  the  church  of 
their  fathers,  they  grieved  at  the  departure  of  loved  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren.  These,  however,  could  not  forget 
the  words  of  the  Master,  "He  that  loveth  father  or  mother 
more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me." 

These  events  all  occurred  during  the  years  of  my  early 
childhood.     I  had  no  knowledge  of  them  afterwards  except 


FORE9HADOWINGS    AND    ANCESTRY.  1 7 

as  I  learned  them  from  ray  parents  and  brothers.  And 
though  I  was  baptized  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  yet  after 
childhood  all  the  home  influences  tended  to  take  me  into  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church.  About  as  far  back  as  I  can 
remember,  the  Greenfield  congregation  was  organized,  my 
father  being  one  of  the  elders.  Soon  afterwards  he  traveled 
east  and  canvassed  some  of  the  city  congregations  for  funds 
to  help  to  build  a  good  brick  church.  My  first  pastor  was 
Rev.  WiUiam  Sloane.  He  was  installed  probably  when  I 
was  about  nine  years  of  age.  He  was  a  profound  theologian 
and  a  good  man,  but  I  think  I  feared  him  more  than  I  loved 
him,  for  as  I  now  remember  him  he  lacked  the  power  to 
please  boys;  yet  the  fault  may  have  been  all  my  own.  In 
later  years,  however,  Father  Sloane  became  very  dear  to  me. 
But  more  of  this  farther  on.  My  father  was  a  delegate  to 
the  Synod  of  1833  in  Philadelphia  at  the  time  of  the  "New- 
Light  division,"  as  it  was  afterwards  called.  Much  as  he 
loved  some  of  the  brethren  who  went  into  that  defection  he 
had  no  sympathy  with  the  sentiments  or  actions  of  those 
who  practically  abandoned  the  testimony  of  the  church  and 
went  into  the  government  and  into  politics.  At  that  time 
I  was  only  twelve  years  of  age,  but  well  do  I  remember 
how  the  congregation  was  agitated  and  how  my  father's 
mind  was  engrossed  in  the  question  on  which  the  church 
was  divided.  I  often  heard  him  describe  the  scenes  that 
occurred  in  the  old  Cherry  Street  church  when  the  actual 
separation  took  place;  and  probably  these  things  had  much 
to  do  in  causing  my  early  prejudice  against  the  "New 
Lights;"  and  I  am  not  sure  that  I  ever  got  rid  of  it. 

I  can  not  close  this  chapter  without  saying  more  about 
those  who  loved  me  and  to  whom  I  owe  so  much.  Chief 
among  these  of  course  were  my  father  and  mother.  I  know 
they  were  not  perfect,  but  just  as  well  do  I  know  that  few 
sons  are  blessed  with  better  parents.  My  father  had  only 
2 


1 8       LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

an  ordinary  education,  but  he  was  a  great  reader  and  a  man 
of  far  more  than  ordinary  intelligence.  As  a  father  he  was 
faithful.  Compared  with  my  mother,  however,  I  can  re- 
member him  as  almost  stern  in  government  and  severe  in 
discipline.  She  was  peculiarly  amiable  in  disposition  and 
mild  and  gentle  in  discipline.  He  taught  me  theology;  she 
taught  me  to  pray.  He  taught  me  my  duty,  and  urged  me 
to  do  right;  her  mother's  love  and  her  beautiful  example 
were  an  inspiration  to  me.  His  word  was  law;  probably 
her  known  wish  was  a  stronger  incentive  to  loving  obedience. 
He  loved  me,  I  know,  and  he  used  to  call  me  his  "little 
Benjamin,"  but  he  knew  my  faults  better  than  I  knew  my 
own,  and  he  seemed  so  much  greater  and  better  than  I  that 
my  love  to  him  was  more  like  reverence  and  fear  to  dis- 
please. Yet  I  know  that  I  loved  him.  Well  do  I  remember 
that  in  my  boyhood  I  rarely  ever  was  happier  than  when  he 
took  me  with  him  when  he  went  a-fishing.  I  was  proud  of 
my  father,  and  I  thought  it  quite  an  honor  to  be  his  sole 
companion  when  we  two,  father  and  I,  went  ambling  down 
our  beautiful  Brush  Run.  And  many  a  good  lesson  was 
taught  me  in  those  happy  hours — happy  hours  of  boyhood 
long  past  but  never  forgotten  even  in  gray  hairs. 

I  should  have  said  before  this  that  my  father  was  a  great 
lover  of  music,  and  probably  he  was  regarded  in  early  life 
as  a  good  musician.  This  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he 
was  so  long  the  leader  in  the  congregational  singing.  I 
remember  his  voice  as  clear  and  melodious.  He  often  sang 
in  his  sleep.  In  the  night  I  was  occasionally  awakened  by 
his  singing.  The  words  could  not  be  distinguished.  He 
never  sang  the  tune  more  than  once;  and  it  was  not  any  tune 
I  had  ever  heard  before,  and  my  mother  said  she  had  never 
heard  it  before.  It  resembled  a  church  tune  and  was  ex- 
ceedingly beautiful.  I  think  the  voice  and  tones  and  expres- 
sion were  clearer  and  sweeter  than  when  he  was  awake. 


FORESHADOWINGS    AND    ANCESTRY.  I9 

Sometimes  when  in  a  still  hour  of  the  night  I  was  waked 
out  of  sleep  by  the  singing,  it  seemed  as  music  by  some 
angel  voice,  and  I  was  sorry  that  it  ceased  so  scon.  In  the 
morning  he  had  no  recollection  of  his  singing,  nor  of  any 
dream  connected  with  the  music.  Only  One  knew  where 
was  the  spirit  of  the  singer.  In  early  life  he  was  a  violinist 
and  excelled  on  the  instrument.  I  do  not  know  at  what 
time  of  life  or  why  he  ceased  to  play,  but  as  long  back  as  I 
can  remember  he  had  no  violin  of  his  own  in  the  house. 
When  I  heard  him  play,  it  was  when  a  neighbor  or  friend 
would  bring  an  instrument  to  him  and  ask  him  to  play. 
He  seemed  familiar  with  it.  I  was  always  charmed  almost 
to  an  ecstasy  when  I  listened.  To  this  day  it  seems  as 
though  I  have  never  heard  such  exquisite  music.  But  then 
I  was  a  boy  and  ray  father  was  the  player.  Since  his  death, 
now  fifty  years  ago,  I  have  often  wondered  why  he  ceased 
to  play,  and  what  had  become  of  his  old  violin.  When  I 
could  have  learned  I  did  not  think  to  ask,  and  now  no  one 
survives  to  tell  me.  Yet  I  have  tried  to  account  for  it. 
From  my  first  recollection  he  always  seemed  to  be  a  man 
of  a  sad  heart.  Financial  reverses,  sore  family  afflictions, 
severe  sickness,  from  which  he  did  not  expect  to  recover, 
subsequent  feeble  health,  troubles  in  the  church,  and  other 
causes,  must  have  greatly  changed  his  mode  of  life.  When 
two  of  his  sons  wished  to  go  to  college,  he  made  distribution 
of  his  little  property,  and,  giving  the  farm  into  the  charge 
of  the  second  son,  he  spent  his  remaining  years  in  retire- 
ment except  when  he  attended  church  courts  or  visited 
friends.  Most  of  his  time  was  spent  in  reading.  During 
his  last  years  he  read  all  through  the  "Comprehensive  Com- 
mentary," Matthew  Henry  and  Scott's  notes.  I  can  not 
doubt  that  all  through  those  years  the  divine  Spirit  was  pre- 
paring him  for  the  higher  life  into  which  he  was  permitted 
to  enter  in  his  seventieth  year. 


20  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

But  what  shall  I  say  of  my  mother  ?  Her  love  to  me  was 
so  tender  and  sweet  I  always  wanted  to  be  with  her  and 
learn  from  her  lips  and  receive  her  benediction.  When  I 
now  look  back  upon  her  character  and  mode  of  life,  she 
seems  to  me  as  perfection  or  an  angel  of  mercy  through 
whom  from  God  I  received  all  the  good  he  could  bestow 
upon  one  so  incapable  of  appreciating  or  receiving  his  pre- 
cious gifts.  I  know  that  to  me  she  was  one  of  God's 
choicest  blessings.  I  can  not  love  him  sufficiently  for  giv- 
ing me  such  a  mother.  Under  God  her  influence  in  molding 
my  character  was  all-powerful.  If  it  had  not  been  for  her 
there  were  many  temptations  I  never  could  have  resisted. 
And  all  through  my  life  until  she  passed  beyond  the  veil 
which  hid  her  from  my  mortal  vision,  her  prayers  were  a 
benediction  to  me  and  mine. 

Next  to  this  mother,  affectionate  mention  must  be  made 
of  my  sister.  I  had  but  one;  I  never  wanted  another.  It 
always  seemed  as  though  I  had  no  love  to  share  with 
another.  Being  nearly  three  j^ears  older,  in  my  childhood 
she  was  my  teacher,  my  example,  my  guardian  angel,  my 
idol.  We  played  together,  we  worked  together,  we  hunted 
eggs  together,  and  we  gathered  apples  together.  When  I 
began  to  go  to  the  old  log  schoolhouse,  nearly  two  miles 
away,  she  led  me  by  the  hand  or  wailed  on  me  when  I 
lagged  behind.  At  noon  when  the  children  ate  lunch  under 
the  shade  trees,  she  gave  me  my  share  and  the  best  out  of 
the  little  dinner  basket.  If  at  play  or  at  any  time  I  got 
hurt,  my  sister  was  my  surgeon.  If  I  cried,  Mary  Jane 
would  say,  "Don't  cry,  Robinson,  it  will  soon  get  well."  I 
am  not  sure,  but  I  think  I  never  refused  to  do  what  she  told 
me  to  do.  She  was  to  me  an  angel  of  light.  In  her  I  saw 
nothing  but  perfection.  And  as  long  as  I  was  a  minor  at 
home,  as  far  as  I  now  remember,  this  sisterly  influence  over 
me  never  weakened.     And  I  leave  on  record  my  testimony 


FORi^SHADOWINGS   AND   ANCESTRY.  2l 

that  under  God  and  my  parents  I  owe  more  to  her  for  early 
rehgious  and  formative  influences  than  to  all  others  all 
through  life.     God  pity  the  boy  that  has  no  such  sister. 

I  have  no  remembrance  of  my  brothers  until  after  they 
were  young  men.  The  youngest  of  the  three,  James  S., 
was  over  fourteen  years  my  senior.  The  first  I  remember 
of  him  and  the  oldest,  John  B.,  was  when  they  were  students 
at  college.  Samuel  P.,  the  second,  was  the  farmer  at  home. 
The  first  I  can  remember  of  him  was  when  I  was  eight 
years  old,  when  he  brought  home  his  beautiful  young  wife, 
Ellen  Thompson.  On  subsequent  pages  I  will  have  occa- 
sion to  speak  of  these  good  brothers  again.  All  these, 
father  and  mother  and  brothers  and  sister,  and  all  their  life 
companions,  have  passed  on  before,  saved  as  I  hope  by  the 
blood  of  the  Ivamb,  while  of  my  father's  family,  only  wife 
and  I  remain  to  mourn  their  loss.  Is  the  hope  of  a  joyful 
family  reunion  in  the  Father's  house  the  privilege  of  one 
who  hopes  he  can  say,  "Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the 
Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  the 
children  of  God  ' '  ! 


CHAPTER   II. 
Early  Education. 

Does  the  character  of  an  education  depend  upon  whether 
the  schoolhouse  is  made  of  bricks  or  of  logs?  If  it  does, 
mine  must  be  peculiar,  for  all  the  years  of  my  common-school 
training  were  in  a  log  schoolhouse.  The  first  was  nearly 
two  miles  from  home.  My  sister  was  my  guide  and  guar- 
dian. In  Ohio  in  those  days  there  were  only  six  months 
public  school  in  the  year,  three  months  in  winter  and  three 
in  summer.  If  more  were  desired,  the  parents  would  employ 
a  teacher  for  what  was  called  a  "subscription  school." 

In  winter  the  schools  were  crowded,  many  of  the  scliolars 
being  adult  young  men  and  young  women  who  cou'd  not 
attend  in  the  summer.  The  facilities  were  very  limited,  and 
often  the  teachers  inferior.  In  the  old  schoolhouse  I  re- 
ceived about  all  that  was  ever  taught,  a  superficial  and 
limited  knowledge  of  reading,  writing,  geography,  arith- 
metic, and  a  little  of  English  grammar.  A  scholar  that 
had  "ciphered"  through  the  book — and  only  one  was  used — 
and  who  could  "parse"  a  little,  was  ready  to  graduate  from 
the  log-cabin  school.  None  but  men  ever  taught  in  winter; 
in  summer,  sometimes  a  woman.  My  first  teacher  was  a 
young  woman  who  taught  a  summer  "subscription  school." 
My  sister  took  me  with  her,  probably  more  for  company 
than  with  the  expectation  that  I  would  learn  much.  Here 
I  learned  my  alphabet  at  least.  It  was  pasted  on  one  side 
of  a  wooden  paddle,  a  la  mode.  About  the  only  thing  I  can 
remember  of  my  teacher  is  when  at  noon  playtime  I  got  a 

(22) 


EARLY    EDUCATION.  23 

thorn  in  my  foot,  my  sister  ran  and  brought  her  to  take  it 
out.  She  set  me  up  on  a  stump  near  by  and  pulled  out  the 
thorn.  Among  the  teachers  well  remembered  was  a  Meth- 
odist local  preacher.  Most  of  the  families  in  the  district  were 
either  Covenanters  or  Presbyterians.  According  to  the 
custom  of  the  times,  it  was  his  duty  to  hear  the  Shorter 
Catechism  recited  once  a  week  b}'  all  the  children  who  had 
learned  or  were  learning  it.  On  Friday  or  Saturday  after- 
noons if  we  wished  we  were  allowed  to  go  out  and  lie  upon 
the  grass  or  sit  in  the  shade  and  study  the  catechism,  and 
then  in  the  school  we  all  sat  in  a  line  and  answered  the 
questions  asked  by  the  teacher.  Whether  our  good  Meth- 
odist preacher  believed  in  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  decrees 
or  of  election  I  do  not  know,  but,  whether  Armenian  or 
Calvinist,  he  had  to  ask  the  questions  and  see  that  they  were 
answered  properly.  The  school  directors  all  believed  in  the 
Catechism,  and  they  were  the  paymasters.  But  what  holy 
horrors  there  would  be  in  this  year  of  grace,  1897,  if  teach- 
ers in  our  public  schools  were  required  to  hear  the  pupils 
recite  the  old  Westminster  formula!  In  those  early  years 
the  Bible  was  used  almost  everywhere  as  a  text-book  for 
reading  classes.  The  advanced  scholars  read  in  the  Old 
Testament;  the  younger,  in  the  New.  We  stood  in  a  line 
and  read  each  one  a  verse.  My  recollection  is  that  in  the 
Old  Testament  the  Psalms  and  the  prophets  were  read  gen- 
erally; in  the  New,  the  evangelists  and  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  more  than  other  parts.  To  the  reading  of  the 
Bible  I  think  no  one  ever  objected.  I^ike  geography  or  any 
other  study,  it  came  as  a  matter  of  course.  Indeed,  in  all 
that  part  of  the  country  there  were  no  Roman  Catholics, 
and  I  think  few,  if  any,  unbelievers  in  the  Bible  as  the 
Word  of  God.  The  teachers  were,  presumably,  all  mem- 
bers of  some  of  the  evangelical  churches;  not  many  of  them, 
however,  knew  how  to  govern  their  schools  without  the  use 


24  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

of  the  rattan  or  the  ferule.  Some  of  them  kept  a  rod  in  the 
hand  or  under  the  arm  much  of  the  time,  to  have  it  ready 
for  use  any  moment.  Sometimes  it  was  used  with  great 
severity.  Fortunate  was  the  boy  who  e.scaped  without  a 
whipping.  I  must  have  been  a  favored  pupil  or  a  very  good 
boy,  for  the  only  time  I  can  remember  of  being  punished 
was  when  I  courted  the  rod.  A  boy  had  in  some  way  dis- 
pleased the  master.  He  either  had  no  rod  or  wished  a 
larger  one.  Many  of  the  boys  thought  the  punishment 
would  be  unjust.  Thomas  Ford  and  I  were  sent  out  to 
bring  in  a  rod.  He  climbed  into  a  beech  tree  and  cut  a  long 
and  slender  branch,  measuring  probably  eight  or  ten  feet. 
When  it  was  trimmed  up  I  carried  it  to  the  master,  handing 
to  him  the  large  end,  while  the  other  was  still  outside  the 
open  door.  This  was  our  way  of  expressing  our  disapproval 
of  the  threatened  punishment.  The  master  was  angry. 
Using  his  pocket-knife  he  cut  the  unwieldy  rod  into  two 
pieces,  threw  out  the  larger  part,  and  with  the  other  gave 
each  of  us  two  or  three  heavy  strokes.  Probably  we  de- 
served it,  but  as  it  was  what  we  expected,  and  as  we  knew 
we  had  the  sympathy  of  the  other  boys,  we  tried  not  to 
wince,  and  we  went  to  our  seats  thinking  ourselves  heroes. 

If  I  may  digress  a  little  I  will  say  that  even  in  those  days 
I  saw  a  little  of  the  evil  of  depending  upon  the  rattan  for 
school  government,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say  that 
years  afterwards,  during  a  vacation  in  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary, I  taught  in  that  same  old  schoolhouse  and  governed 
the  school,  I  think  successfully,  without  the  use  of  the  rod. 
I  may  not  deny  the  right  of  the  teacher  to  use  corporal 
punishment  if  he  use  it  properlj^  but  I  would  advise  him  to 
suspect  his  fitness  to  be  a  teacher  if  he  can  not  govern  with- 
out the  rattan  or  the  ferule. 

If  any  reader  had  a  similar  experience  he  will  excuse  me 
for  alluding  to  the  difficulties  under  which  I  began  the  study 


EARLY    EDlJCATIO^f.  25 

of  Latin.  It  was  some  time  in  the  winter  of  1830  and  1831, 
when  I  was  a  httle  over  ten  years  of  age.  My  brother  J.  B. 
was  then  in  Pittsburgh  with  a  few  others  studying  theology 
with  old  Dr.  John  Black.  He  and  another  student,  John 
Wallace,  were  also  teaching  a  select  school  for  boys.  As  he 
was  keeping  house,  probably  he  or  my  parents  wished  me  to 
be  with  him  and  to  be  helpful  in  his  family.  My  father 
went  with  me  in  our  midwinter  journey  to  Pittsburgh. 
Here  I  went  to  school  with  the  two  theologians  and  studied 
the  common  English  branches.  Probably  my  brother  wished 
me  to  be  a  preacher  some  day;  and  so  he  put  me  at  the 
Latin  grammar  which  I  was  expected  to  study  morning  and 
evening  and  recite  to  him  at  home.  I  do  not  know  how 
much  of  the  grammar  I  mastered,  if  any  at  all,  but  I  re- 
member that  after  a  while  my  teacher  had  me  trying  to  read 
in  his  old  Historia  Sacra.  With  the  coming  of  spring  I 
became  homesick;  I  wanted  to  see  my  mother.  The  session 
of  theological  study  being  closed,  I  think  Thos.  SprouU 
and  several  others  were  licensed  by  the  Pittsburgh  Presby- 
tery. My  brother  Samuel  being  there  on  a  visit  at  the  time, 
I  returned  home  with  him,  and  the  Latin  grammar  was  left 
behind,  and  its  Amo,  Amas,  Amat,  etc.,  all  forgotten. 

A  summer  or  two  afterwards,  when  I  was  eleven  or  twelve 
years  of  age,  I  again  took  a  few  lessons  in  Latin  grammar, 
this  time  with  my  pastor.  Rev.  William  Sloane.  I  suppose 
I  made  little  progress,  however.  I  not  only  walked  about 
three  miles  to  recite  to  him  at  his  home,  but  was  attending  the 
common  school  at  the  old  log  house  about^half  way  between 
the  two  homes.  And  as  the  boy  of  the  Latin  grammar  had 
no  brains  to  spare,  nor  any  classmate,  nor  a  very  merry 
teacher,  it  is  quite  probable  that  he  was  more  interested  in 
the  schoolhouse  exercises  or  on  the  playground.  And  it  is 
not  very  probable  that  his  Latin  teacher  would  report  to  the 
boy's  parents  that  some  day  he  would  be  a  likely  candidate 


26      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

for  the  Latia  chair  in  some  university.  This  much  I  re- 
member, however,  that  at  the  close  of  that  term  of  school, 
work  on  the  farm  and  in  the  tan-yard  was  resumed,  and  Latin 
paradigms  all  forgotten  until  six  or  seven  years  afterwards, 
and  elsewhere.  Little  knowledge  of  the  Latin  had  been 
acquired,  but  memory,  a  mental  faculty  of  the  greatest 
importance,  had  been  educated  somewhat. 

It  was  probably  the  next  winter  or  summer  after  my  private 
lessons  to  my  pastor  that  he  taught  a  term  or  two  in  the 
public  school,  or  perhaps  a  subscription  school,  a  fact  which 
indicates  that  his  salary  was  insufficient.  Some  of  his  oldest 
children  attended  the  school,  among  whom  was  the  second 
son,  Renwick,  afterwards.  Rev.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane,  D.  D.,  and 
now  among  the  celestials.  It  was  during  these  years,  while 
his  father  was  my  pastor,  that  between  Renwick  Sloane  and 
Robinson  Johnston  grew  up  a  friendship,  and,  at  least  on  the 
part  of  the  latter,  a  warm  affection  which  never  died  out 
but  grew  into  the  still  stronger  principle  or  grace  of  brotherly 
love  which  continued  until  his  Master  released  him  from  his 
labors  on  earth.  His  oldest  brother,  John  M.  Sloane,  of 
Oakdale,  Illinois,  was  the  oldest  of  the  family,  and  is  now 
the  only  survivor.  Of  Renwick  Sloane  we  will  hear  more 
after  a  while. 

The  first  school  at  which  I  remember  to  have  been  fond 
of  study  and  began  to  see  the  importance  of  education,  was 
at  New  Richmond,  Ohio,  to  which  town  my  parents  moved 
for  the  time,  partly,  I  suppose,  that  my  sister  and  I  might 
attend  the  school.  It  was  a  private  academy  taught  by 
Rev.  J.  C.  Tidball,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  without  charge. 
His  assistant  was  his  younger  brother,  David.  Except  pri- 
mary algebra,  all  my  studies  were  common  English  branches. 
In  these  I  recited  to  the  assistant,  a  superior  teacher;  and 
though  I  was  only  a  boy  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  I  then 
formed  for  David  Tidball  an  attachment  that  in  after  years 


J.    R.  W.   Sloane,    D.    D. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  New  Home  in  the  West. 

Near  the  time  of  our  return  to  the  old  home  on  Brush 
Run — it  was  in  the  autumn  of  1836 — my  brother  James,  then 
living  in  Logan  County,  Ohio,  visited  his  family  friends, 
•bringing  with  him  his  newly  married  wife,  Mary  Hyndman. 
During  their  visit  it  w^as  arranged  that  1  should  go  as  soon 
as  practicable  to  live  with  him.  He  was  then  engaged  in 
merchandising  in  a  "country  store"  in  the  village  of  New 
Richland,  near  one  of  the  head  streams  of  the  Miami  River. 
It  was  within  the  bounds  of  Miami  Congregation  of  which 
my  brother,  John  B.,  was  pastor.  Whether  my  parents 
and  my  brother  James  then  intended  me  to  become  a  busi- 
ness man,  I  do  not  know;  nor  do  I  remember  that  I  had 
any  well-defined  purpose  of  my  own,  but  whatever  may 
have  been  their  design  God  had  other  purposes,  as  subse- 
quent events  showed.  Having  returned  to  our  old  farm 
home,  preparations  were  made  for  my  departure  to  western 
Ohio.  But  before  I  write  further  of  it  I  must  linger  to  see 
what  I  was  about  to  leave  behind.  Here  was  my  birth- 
place. Here  were  my  early  childhood  associations;  and, 
still  better,  all  that  made  it  to  me  sweet  home.  The  farm 
life,  with  its  work  among  the  animals  and  in  the  woods 
and  fields  and  meadows,  did  much  to  shape  my  mode  of 
thought  and  my  character.  Like  much  of  the  country 
around,  the  farm  itself  was  beautiful.  The  little  stream, 
called  Brush  Run,  with  its  several  branches,  ran  through  its 
entire  length.  The  valley  was  wide,  and  on  the  meadows 
(28) 


A    NEW    HOME    IN    THE    WEST.  29 

had  b^en  left  t )  grow  a  large  number  of  sugar  maple  trees, 
which  every  spring  were  a  source  of  both  pleasure  and 
profit.  This  httle  valley  with  its  rich  soil  and  abundant 
crops  of  hay  and  corn,  was  bordered  by  hillside  grain  fields 
and  pastures  and  forests,  the  whole  making  a  picture 
of  such  beauty  that  it  left  its  deep  iippression  upon  my 
memory.  The  brooklets  flowing  into  the  larger  stream, 
the  hills,  the  forests,  the  whole  landscape,  than  which,  as 
memory  has  it  painted,  none  beheld  since  was  more  beautiful, 
must  have  done  much  to  cause  that  imperishable  love  of  the 
country  and  admiration  of  landscape  and  mountain  scenery 
that  has  possessed  me  all  through  my  life,  and  has  been  the 
source  of  my  highest  terrestrial  enjoyments.  It  is  God- 
given;  and  I  can  not  suppress  the  hope  that  it  will  ever  be 
a  source  of  delight  in  the  "better  country,"  whose  rivers 
and  trees  and  mountains  will  be  illumed  by  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness. 

But  the  time  came  when  I  must  leave  home.  My  father 
gave  me  good  advice  and  prayed  for  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  me.  My  sister  kissed  lue  good-by  and  cried.  My 
mother  embraced  me  and  kissed  me,  and  wept  as  she  said, 
"God  bless  you,  my  Robinson."  In  bitterness  of  heart  I 
tore  myself  away  and  hurried  off  to  my  long  journey.  I 
walked  alone  from  the  house  to  the  stage  road,  a  mile  or 
two  distant,  crying  nearly  all  the  way.  Though  I  had 
consented  to  go  and  had  desired  to  go,  such  was  my  love  to 
those  left  behind  that  it  seemed  cruel  that  I  must  be  sepa- 
rated from  my  mother  when  I  knew  not  what  was  before  me. 
The  journey  had  been  mapped  out  for  me  by  my  father. 
It  was  made  partly  by  stage  and  partly  on  foot.  There 
were  no  railroads  in  the  country  then.  I  had  no  baggage 
but  what  I  could  carry  in  my  hand.  The  first  Sabbath 
was  spent  in  Salt  Creek  Reformed  Presbyterian  congrisga- 
tion,  old  Rev.  Robert   Wallace  pastor;   the  second  was  in 


30      LOOKING  BACK  PROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND, 

Columbus,  the  capital,  with  my  cousin,  Dr.  William  Awl, 
superintendent  of  the  lunatic  asylum,  the  only  one  in  the 
state  then.  During  the  days  I  remained  in  the  city,  and  by 
the  kindness  of  my  cousins — Mrs.  Awl  was  a  niece  of  my 
mother — I  was  so  entertained  by  new  things  that  my  grief 
from  having  to  leave  home  was  much  assuaged.  Dr.  Awl 
took  me  through  the  asylum  several  times.  With  him  I 
visited  the  Legislature.  He  took  me  to  see  a  new  orrery,  or 
planetarium,  and  probably  the  largest  ever  constructed. 
It  gave  me  my  first  clear  conception  of  the  vastness  and 
the  glory  of  the  astronomical  world.  At  that  time  Ohio 
had  no  blind  asylum.  Dr.  Howe,  of  the  Boston  asylum,  at 
the  invitation  of  the  friends  of  the  blind,  had  brought 
several  of  the  inmates  of  his  institution  to  Columbus  to 
influence  the  Legislature  to  make  appropriations  for  an  Ohio 
blind  asylum.  By  the  kindness  of  my  friends  I  was  present 
when  the  blind  from  Boston  gave  illustrations  of  what 
marvelous  attainments  could  be  made  by  this  unfortunate 
class.  I  was  intensely  interested,  and  thought  then  that  if  it 
were  possible  I  would  gladly  devote  my  life  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  blind. 

On  Monday  I  started  again  on  my  journey,  and  during 
two  days  I  walked  fifty-five  miles  to  Bellefontaine,  and  on  to 
Richland,  where,  with  sore  feet  and  weary  limbs,  I  was 
welcomed  by  my  brother  James  and  his  young  wife.  A 
new  life  was  before  me. 

With  the  change  in  my  home  came  the  change  of  associa- 
tions, new  temptations  and  new  responsibilities.  I  was 
yet  only  a  boy  of  sixteen.  I  still  needed  a  mother's  love, 
a  father's  control,  and  a  sister's  help  and  care,  all  which 
had  been  left  behind  at  the  old  home.  But  my  brother 
was  to  me  as  a  father.  His  wife  was  kind,  and  made  my 
new  home  pleasant.  But  the  want  of  a  sister  I  felt  keenly. 
Except  my  two  brothers  and  their  families,  all  the  people, 


A   NEW   HOME   IN   THE   WEST.  3 1 

old  and  j^oung,  were  strangers  to  me;  and  to  homesickness 
I  was  not  a  stranger.  And,  though  the  postage  of  a  letter 
back  to  the  loved  ones  from  whom  I  was  far  separated  was 
then  eighteen  and  three-fourths  cents,  many  letters  passed 
to  and  from  the  old  home.  Gradually  I  became  reconciled 
to  my  lot. 

The  village  in  which  my  brother  lived  was  within  the 
bounds  of  Miami  congregation,  of  which  my  oldest  brother 
was  pastor.  The  house  of  worship  was  about  two  miles 
distant  and  near  a  post-oflfice  and  little  country  store,  where 
the  village  of  Northwood  afterwards  grew  up,  and  became 
the  location  of  Geneva  College.  The  church  building, 
which  was  about  half  a  mile  from  the  store,  was  a  hewed- 
log  house  scarcely  large  enough  to  hold  the  members  of 
the  church.  When  adherents  and  others- came,  the  house 
was  overcrowded.  At  communion  seasons,  when  many 
people  from  the  country  around  attended,  the  services  were 
necessarily  held  in  the  Beach  grove  adjacent,  and  near  to 
which  is  now  the  old  cemetery.  In  a  few  years  a  large 
brick  church  was  built  by  the  old  log  house.  This  new 
house  was  soon  well  filled  by  a  large  and  growing  congre- 
gation. 

It  was  in  the  old  log  house  that  I  heard  the  truth  of  the 
gospel  preached  with  such  power  and  pathos  that,  by  the 
gracious  Spirit  of  God,  my  stubborn  will  was  subdued  and 
my  heart  won  to  Him  whose  salvation  I  had  been  tempted 
to  neglect.  Whether  it  was  under  my  mother's  influence 
in  my  boyhood  or  at  the  later  period  when  the  Word  preached 
so  persuaded  me  that  I  joyfully  gave  myself  to  Him  who 
has  become  all  my  salvation  and  all  my  desire,  I  am  not 
sure;  but  this  I  know,  that  during  the  three  short  years  in 
which  I  heard  the  gospel  in  that  old  log  church,  a  great 
change  of  mind  or  of  heart,  if  not  of  both,  was  experienced. 
During  the  protracted  services  of  the  first  communion  season 


32  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

after  I  was  received  into  church-fellowship  my  emotions, 
both  of  fear  and  of  joy,  as  well  as  the  depths  of  my  heart, 
were  moved  as  never  before.  Whether  it  was  the  saving 
work  of  the  divine  Spirit  I  can  only  hope.  It  was  at  this 
time,  or  soon  afterwards,  that  a  desire  to  preach  the  gospel 
began  to  be  strong.  What  God's  purpose  was  I  could  not 
know,  nor  had  the  time  come  for  me  to  decide  the  question. 
I  continued  as  a  clerk  in  my  brother's  store  and  as  a  help 
to  him  in  his  business  and  work  until  the  early  winter  of 
1837  when  I  joined  a  private  class  of  six  or  seven  students 
in  Latin,  my  brother  J.  B.  being  the  teacher.  During  the 
few  months  of  study  I  boarded  with  his  family.  They  lived 
in  a  log  cabin  and  on  a  little  farm  about  a  half  mile  from 
the  church  where  we  met  to  recite.  And  here  I  must  tes- 
tify to  the  great  worth  of  his  wife,  Mrs.  Sarah  Johnston,  nee 
Bruce.  She  was  a  woman  of  wonderful  energy,  as  well  as 
eminent  piety.  To  her  industry  and  economy  the  pastor  of 
Miami  congregation  was  greatly  indebted.  They  were 
poor,  but  by  her  assistance  and  frugality  he  was  able  to 
attend  to  pastoral  duties  without  anxiety  about  domestic 
matters.  While  I  was  a  boarder  in  the  family  she  was  to 
me  almost  as  kind  as  a  mother.  With  the  return  of  spring 
the  Latin  class  was  scattered,  all  of  them  being  sons  of 
farmers  within  the  bounds  of  the  congregation.  I  returned 
to  the  store  and  family  of  my  brother  James.  About  mid- 
summer I  was  taken  down  with  a  fearful  and  long-continued 
fever  such  as  was  common  in  that  new  and  malarious  coun- 
try. The  physician  was  of  the  old  school,  or  allopathic  class, 
about  the  only  kind  known  then.  After  the  first  two  or 
three  weeks  I  became  reduced  so  low  that  my  friends  did  not 
expect  my  recovery.  Two  others  of  the  same  school  were 
called  in  as  consulting  physicians,  and  waited  upon  me  for 
two  or  three  weeks,  during  which  time  the  patient  became 
greatly  emaciated  and  seemed  to  be   hanging  between  life 


A    NEW    HOME    IN    THE   WEST.  33 

and  death.  But  it  was  the  will  of  the  All-merciful  Father 
that  his  child  should  recover.  After  about  seven  or  eight 
weeks  I  began  to  convalesce  and  finally  returned,  though 
very  slowly,  to  something  like  former  health.  It  may  seem 
out  of  place  here  for  me  to  say  so,  but  I  can  not  refrain  from 
recording  the  fact  that  such  great  quantities  of  allopathic 
medicines  were  given  to  the  patient,  and  such  free  and  fre- 
quent use  of  the  lancet  made,  that  it  often  seemed  almost 
marvelous  that  the  doctors  did  not  kill  me  outright.  Even 
then,  especially  after  I  began  to  recover  and  could  recall  the 
kind  of  treatment  I  had  received,  I  greatly  doubted  the 
wisdom  of  their  practise;  and  not  many  years  afterwards, 
and  after  careful  study  of  the  laws  of  health,  and  after 
impartial  comparison  of  the  different  systems  of  medical 
practise,  I  lost  confidence  in  every  other  except  the  hygienic. 
More  than  this  I  may  not  write  here  except  to  say  that  after 
that  long  sickness  I  never  enjoyed  good  health.  During 
my  protracted  sickness  I  was  greatly  favored  by  the  pres- 
ence and  help  of  my  sister  who  had  come  to  visit  her  brothers- 
She  was  my  faithful  and  tender  and  constant  nurse.  Her 
presence  and  sympathy  were  a  great  comfort  to  me.  As 
soon  as  I  was  sufficiently  recovered,  I  accompanied  her  on 
her  return  home.  As  at  the  time  there  were  no  railroads  in 
Ohio,  we  traveled  by  stage  two  nights  and  one  day.  At 
Morristown,  Belmont  County,  we  stopped  to  visit  our  old 
teachers,  formerly  of  New  Richmond,  Rev.  J.  C.  Tidball 
and  his  brother  David.  The  former  was  at  this  time  a  sup- 
ply in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Morristown.  As  formerly, 
he  was  yet  a  zealous  abolitionist.  In  our  conversation  the 
evening  we  spent  with  him  he  narrated  the  following  inci- 
dents, illustrating  how  the  pulpits  of  the  slave-holding 
churches  were  chained  and  their  pastors  muzzled.  A  few 
years  before,  he  was  a  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Ohio.  In  the  prosecution  of  his  ministerial  work  he  occa- 
3 


34      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

sionally  bore  testimony  against  slavery.  The  people  were  not 
satisfied  with  his  testimony.  One  da}'  a  committee  waited 
upon  hira,  informing  him  that  his  preaching  on  the  subject 
of  slaverj^  was  not  acceptable  to  the  congregation  and  that 
they  requested  him  to  desist  from  it.  He  heard  the  com- 
mittee courteously  and  they  departed.  After  a  while  he 
preached,  as  formerly,  a  clear-cut,  anti-slavery  discourse. 
Another  church  meeting  was  held  and  another  committee 
appointed  which  waited  upon  him  and  informed  him  that 
the  church  had  authorized  them  to  say  that  he  must  not 
preach  any  more  on  the  subject  of  slavery  or  they  would  be 
compelled  to  have  the  pastoral  relation  dissolved.  The 
pastor  arose  in  the  presence  of  the  committee  and  said: 
"Gentlemen,  please  go  back  to  your  brethren  and  say  to 
them  for  me  that  before  I  promise  to  preach  no  more  against 
slavery  they  may  all  go  to  the  devil." 

I  remained  at  home  until  late  autumn,  when  I  returned  to 
Logan  County  and  resumed  the  study  of  Latin.  Before  late 
spring  we  had  read  three  or  four  of  the  ^neids  of  Virgil. 

Again  I  returned  to  the  store  and  remained  at  business 
and  work  with  my  brother  through  the  summer  and  early 
autumn.  Sometime  during  the  summer  my  faith  was  tried. 
As  my  brother  had  taught  me  to  keep  his  books,  and  as  I 
was  supposed  to  have  acquired  some  business  habits,  a  flat- 
tering oSer  was  made  to  me  through  m^y  brother  by  a  man 
who  contemplated  opening  a  store  in  a  town  in  the  same 
county.  He  had  the  necessary  capital  but  he  knew  nothing 
about  the  business  and  could  not  keep  books.  And  so  he 
wished  a  partner  in  business.  After  several  conversations 
with  my  brother,  he  authorized  him  to  confer  with  me  and 
offer  to  me  the  position  of  an  equal  partner,  he  to  furnish 
all  the  capital.  It  was  a  trial  of  my  faith.  He  was  a  Cov- 
enanter, in  the  possession  of  considerable  money,  and  a  clever 
Irish  bachelor.     Here  was  what  seemed  to  be  a  good  oppor- 


A   NEW   HOME   IN   THE   WEST.  35 

tunity  to  go  into  a  profitable  business,  and  perhaps  acquire 
some  wealth  after  a  while.  But  if  I  would  accept  the  offer  I 
would  have  to  abandon  my  studies  and  the  thought  of  being 
a  theological  student.  I  do  not  know  that  I  made  it  a  sub- 
ject of  special  prayer,  but  I  know  that  I  was  not  long  in 
making  a  decision.  Without  much  delay  I  thankfully 
declined  the  offer,  and  I  never  regretted  my  decision.  Sub- 
sequently I  have  often  thought  how  different  would  have 
been  my  whole  course  of  life  if  I  had  accepted  the  tempting 
offer  and  given  my  mind  and  heart  to  business.  But  He  who 
chooses  for  us  our  lot  had  ordered  it  to  be  otherwise.  He 
had  something  better  in  store  for  me.  The  hope  of  it  led  to 
the  decision  He  caused  me  to  make. 

The  three  years  spent  in  Logan  County,  prior  to  my  en- 
tering college,  were,  in  some  respects,  formative  years.  I 
should  have  had  better  society.  The  population  was  greatly 
mixed.  Some  of  the  early  settlers  were  illiterate  and  un- 
cultivated, as  well  as  irreligious.  Too  many  of  the  Cove- 
nanters who  first  removed  thither,  and  were  associated  with 
that  class,  were  harmed  by  the  contact  and  learned  their 
ways.  Those  who  had  enjoyed  greater  advantages  and  who 
made  a  higher  profession  should  have  been  educators  of  the 
others  instead  of  being  "conformed  to  the  world."  I  needed 
refined  and  elevating  companions.  I  was  not  prepared  to 
be  a  reformer  among  the  rude  and  uncultivated.  It  is  easier 
to  fall  to  the  low  level  of  such  than  to  lift  them  up  to  a  higher 
moral  plane,  either  by  the  power  of  religious  influences  or 
good  example.  I  know  that  I  was  culpable,  and  I  know 
that  too  many  of  the  youth  of  the  church  loved  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  world.  Their  lives  were  not  marked  by  that 
spirituality  which  becomes  the  disciples  of  the  divine 
Master.  Religion  is  refining.  All  Covenanters  should  have 
been  models. 

As  early  as   1837  that  part  of  Logan  County  was  new. 


36  I^OOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   I,AND. 

The  farms  were  small  and  few.  The  roads  were  mostly 
through  the  unbroken  forests,  and  with  little  or  no  cultiva- 
tion. The  dwellings  were  nearly  all  log  houses,  some  only 
small  cabins.  The  people  traveled  on  horseback  or  in  farm 
wagons.  Buggies  or  carriages  were  almost  unknown.  As 
for  railroads,  there  were  none  in  the  entire  state.  Tele- 
graph lines  were  not  introduced  until  some  time  after  rail- 
roads were  built.  Such  was  the  society  and  such  the  con- 
dition of  the  country  and  the  environments  of  the  Covenanter 
congregation  in  which  I  resided  and  where  I  prepared  for 
college.  The  central  and  southern  parts  of  the  county  were 
much  better  improved,  but  the  Covenanter  settlements  near 
the  northern  boundary  were  nearly  the  last  to  be  opened  up, 
and,  farther  north,  several  whole  counties  were  nearly  an  un- 
broken forest. 

It  was  during  these  years  in  the  little  town  of  New  Rich- 
land that  the  first  movement  was  made  towards  the  establish- 
ment of  a  literary  institution  to  be  under  Covenanter  in- 
fluence. This  movement,  which  finally  resulted  in  the 
founding  of  Geneva  College  at  Northwood,  originated  with 
brother  J.  S.  Johnston.  After  two  or  three  small  meetings 
were  held  for  consultation  and  with  the  intention  of  locating 
the  college  at  Richland,  some  leading  citizens  of  Bellefontaine 
who  had  heard  of  the  movement  asked  for  a  meeting  at 
which  they  might  be  heard  in  favor  of  locating  the  college 
at  the  county  seat.  Subsequent  meetings  were  held  and 
vigorous  efforts  made  in  behalf  of  Bellefontaine,  but  nothing 
substantial  was  done,  and  the  movement  ceased  for  a  while. 
When  it  was  renewed  it  was  led  by  Rev.  J.  B  Johnston,  and 
in  favor  of  Northwood  as  the  location,  but  "Geneva  Hall," 
the  first  name,  was  not  founded  until  nearly  ten  years  after- 
wards. The  history  of  Geneva  College  since  that  time  was 
published  by  Rev.  W.  M.  Glasgow  in  1888  and  .subsequently 
to  its  removal  to  Beaver  Falls,  Pennsylvania. 


A   NKW    HOME   IN   THE   WEST.  37 

It  was  during  these  years  that  I  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  ray  subsequent  college  mate,  John  French.  He  was  the 
son  of  Elder  John  French,  a  member  of  Miami  church  ses- 
sion. He  was  my  senior  by  nearly  five  years,  and  had  made 
considerable  progress  in  the  study  of  Latin  and  algebra,  and 
some  in  Greek  also,  prior  to  his  joining  the  Latin  class 
taught  by  the  pastor.  We  read  Virgil  together,  and  this 
opened  the  way  to  an  intimate  acquaintance  that  gradually 
grew  into  a  warm  friendship.  He  was  intellectual,  cheer- 
ful, a  lover  of  wit  and  repartee,  of  hopeful  piety,  and,  withal, 
an  intelligent  Covenanter.  It  was  to  my  advantage  that 
subsequently  we  became  fellow-students  in  college,  and  that 
we  lodged  and  boarded  together.  In  the  summer  of  1839 
we  determined  to  enter  Miami  University  at  the  beginning 
of  the  next  college  year. 

Several  times  during  the  early  summer  I  had  met  a  young 
and  beautiful  Christian  girl,  residing  in  Bellefontaine.  In 
the  later  months  the  acquaintance  ripened  into  something 
more  than  friendship.  And  so  it  happened  that  when  the 
time  came  for  the  two  students  to  leave  home  to  enter  their 
chosen  university,  it  was  more  difficult  for  the  younger  than 
the  older  to  depart.  If  the  risible  faculties  of  the  reader  are 
excited  by  this  confession  of  one  who  was  then  only  in  his 
teens,  and  if  said  reader  ever  had  such  an  experience  in 
his  early  life,  he  will  be  willing  to  wait  a  little  for  fuller 
information. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

At  thk  University. 

In  the  autumn  of  1839  the  two  Covenanter  students  took 
the  stage-coach  at  Bellefontaine  on  their  way  to  Oxford  as 
candidates  for  the  freshman  class  in  Miami  University.  At 
West  Liberty  where  the  first  change  of  stage  horses  was 
made  we  weighed  ourselves  on  a  pair  of  scales  standing  on 
the  sidewalk.  The  exact  weight  of  each  was  one  hundred 
and  forty  pounds.  From  Dayton  to  Hamilton  we  traveled 
in  a  canal  boat,  then  by  stage  to  Oxford.  The  Troy  coach 
was  filled  with  students  under  way  to  the  university.  Those 
who  had  been  there  before  were  all  members  of  the  same 
literary  society,  the  "Union  Literary,"  and  so  powerfully 
did  they  electioneer  that  we  all  afterwards  united  with  it 
and  always  were  glad  that  we  had  done  so. 
•  Mr.  French  and  I  rented  a  large  room  in  the  "old  wing." 
We  had  an  open  fireplace  in  which  we  burned  wood,  and 
we  furnished  our  own  room  and  kept  "bachelors'  hall." 
That  open  fireplace  was  a  health  institution,  and  our  frugal 
and  hygienic  diet  was  so  promotive  of  health  that  we  had  no 
doctor's  bills  to  pay.  Bach  was  cook  every  alternate  week; 
each  was  ambitious  to  excel  the  other  in  the  art  of  cookery ; 
and  which  was  entitled  to  the  prize  was  ever  an  un.settled 
dispute.  Once  upon  a  time,  however,  when  we  had  a  roast 
goose  for  an  exceptional  feast,  my  rival,  who  was  the  cook 
that  week,  did  not  remind  me  of  his  superiority,  for  the 
bird  of  the  web-foot,  whose  age  was  not  known  when 
bought,  lasted  us  nearly  a  week. 

(38) 


AT   THE  UNIVERSITY.  39 

We  occupied  that  same  room  during  the  whole  college 
year,  and  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  be  able  to  record  the  fact 
that  every  morning  and  evening  we  united  in  Scripture 
reading  and  prayer  as  in  family  worship  at  home. 

Except  in  the  department  of  Latin  I  was  not  prepared 
for  admission  to  the  freshman  class.  In  Greek  and  in  mathe- 
matics I  was  five  months  in  "candidate  classes"  under  the 
special  instruction  of  the  Head  Master  of  the  academic  de- 
partment. During  those  months  I  knew  nothing  but  hard 
study.  When  the  spring  vacation  came,  and  when  on  our 
way  home  we  stopped  again  at  the  same  stage  station,  and 
again  weighed  ourselves  on  the  same  scales,  Mr.  French 
had  gained  five  pounds,  I  had  lost  five.  He  never  weighed 
less,  I  never  weighed  more. 

During  the  second  half  of  our  college  year  we  were 
members  of  an  eating  club  of  twenty  students.  They  were 
all  Christian  young  men,  or  of  Christian  faith  and  demeanor, 
of  the  same  literary  society,  but  of  several  difierent  churches. 
By  this  method  of  boarding  we  had  more  time  for  study, 
and  our  expenses  were  far  less  than  if  we  had  been  at  an 
ordinary  boarding-house.  And  as  I  had  very  little  money 
with  which  to  carry  me  through  my  college  course,  I  had 
to  study  economy  all  the  while. 

Miami  University  was  one  of  the  two  state  institutions. 
It  was  partly  endowed  by  the  rents  obtained  from  a  town- 
ship of  land  owned  by  the  state.  Members  of  the  faculty 
were  elected  by  the  board  of  trustees,  and  these  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  State  Legislature.  Thus  the  control,  the 
management,  and  the  character  of  the  institution,  were 
liable  to  be  influenced  by  party  politics.  As  to  denomina- 
tion, it  was  largely  under  Presbyterian  influence.  During 
my  year  there  President  Bishop  and  the  professors  were  all 
Presbyterians,  some  Old  School  and  some  New,  except 
Professor  McCracken  of  the  chair  of  higher  mathematics. 


40  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   TliE   SUNSE^T   I,AND. 

He  was  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church.  Whether  out 
of  courtesy  to  him  and  to  the  psalm-singing  students,  of 
whom  there  were  many,  or  whether  it  was  because  President 
Bishop,  who  formerly  had  been  a  member  of  the  Associate 
Reformed  Church,  retained  much  of  his  love  of  the  "old 
psalms,"  I  do  not  know;  but  this  I  well  remember  that 
in  the  morning  chapel  services  the  psalms  were  often  sung 
and  none  so  frequently  as  the  second  part  of  the  119th. 
"By  what  means  shall  a  young  man  learn,"  etc.  In  this 
service  most  of  the  students  took  part.  During  the  entire 
chapel  service  the  deportment  of  the  students  was  grave  as 
well  as  gentlemanly.  I  never  saw  an  act  of  irreverence  or 
disorder.  Indeed,  it  would  not  have  been  permitted  for  a 
moment.  From  the  time  they  entered  the  chapel  until  they 
rose  and  passed  out  class  by  class,  their  demeanor  was  as 
grave  and  quiet  as  if  they  were  in  divine  service  on  Sabbath. 
Now  after  the  lapse  of  fifty-six  years  it  is  not  probable  that 
this  can  be  said  of  many  colleges.  The  young  men  of  the 
colleges  then  were  not  the  young  Americans  of  to-day. 

On  Sabbath  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  as  on  other  days,  all 
the  students  assembled  for  chapel  services;  and,  as  on 
other  days,  they  all  went  to  the  class-rooms  to  recite 
their  Bible  lessons  to  the  members  of  the  faculty.  Presi- 
dent Bishop  taught  the  senior  class.  Our  freshman  class 
recited  to  Professor  John  Scott,  professor  of  the  chair  of 
natural  sciences.  He  was  a  New  School  Presbyterian  min- 
ister and  a  very  fine  Bible  teacher  as  well  as  an  exceedingly 
amiable  man.  He  was  a  favorite  among  the  students. 
During  that  year  he  so  won  my  affections  that  I  never 
ceased  to  love  him  though  I  never  met  him  but  two  or 
three  times  afterwards  until  in  his  old  age  I  called  upon 
him  in  the  White  House  in  Washington  where  he  made 
his  home  with  his  daughter,  the  wife  of  President  Harrison. 
Many  years  had  passed  since  we  had  met  in  Ohio,  and  he 


AT   TH^   UNIVEIRSITY.  4I 

was  now  partially  blind,  so  that  he  could  not  know  me  by 
sight,  yet  after  he  learned  who  his  visitor  was  he  seemed 
like  a  loving  father  to  a  long-absent  son.  His  recollection 
of  his  students  of  fifty  years  ago  was  very  vivid.  When 
Dr.  John  Scott  passed  from  the  White  House  to  a  mansion 
in  the  Father's  house,  great  loss  was  sustained  by  the  family 
and  President,  and  probably  by  the  nation  also. 

In  the  year  1840,  about  twenty  years  before  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion,  the  anti-slavery  agitation  was  increasing  rap- 
idly. The  Covenanters,  the  Friends,  and  the  Garrisonians 
were  the  early  agitators.  Neither  the  Covenanter  church 
nor  the  society  of  Friends  would  receive  slaveholders  into 
their  fellowship;  and  neither  Covenanters  nor  Garrisonians 
would  vote  or  hold  office  under  the  pro-slavery  Constitution. 
On  the  subject  of  slavery,  or  the  right  to  buy  and  sell  and 
exchange  human  beings  as  chattels,  there  was  no  difference 
between  the  two  great  parties,  the  Whig  and  the  Democratic. 
But  among  some  of  the  people  and  some  of  the  churches 
that  fellowshiped  slaveholders  there  had  already  begun  no 
little  agitation.  Some  pulpits  were  "disturbers  of  the  peace 
of  our  Zion."  Some  anti-slavery  papers  were  witnesses 
against  what  Wesley  had  called  the  "sum  of  all  villainies." 
And  some  lecturers  as  anti-slavery  prophets  were  beginning 
to  leaven  the  public  mind  with  the  hatred  of  oppression. 
Miami  University  was  not  free  from  this  agitation.  When 
it  began  is  not  known  now,  but  in  1840  it  was  rapidly  in- 
creasing. Many  of  the  students  were  from  the  south.  The 
members  of  the  faculty  were  nearly  all  Presbyterians,  but  a 
majority  of  them  were  New  School  and  were  less  in  sym- 
pathy with  slaveholders  than  were  the  Old  School  men.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  was  composed  largely  of  pro-slavery  men. 
Like  the  Presbyterian  Church,  especially  the  Old  School, 
thej'  were  disturbed  at  the  growing  anti-slavery  sentiment 
and  often  in  fear  lest  the  university  might  lose  its  southern 


42       LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

students  if  the  anti-slavery  agitation  should  continue  to 
grow.  Prominent  among  the  anti-slavery  members  of  the 
faculty  was  Dr.  Bishop.  He  was  a  New  School  man,  and 
he  was  a  subscriber  of  77^1?  Philanthropist,  an  anti-slavery 
weekly  edited  in  Cincinnati  by  that  prince  of  editors,  Dr. 
Gamaliel  Bailey.  With  the  increase  of  the  investigation 
and  discussion  the  lines  of  division  between  the  students  and 
the  professors  and  the  Board  of  Trustees  became  more  and 
more  distinctly  defined.  In  our  Union  Literary  Society 
were  a  few  students  who  were  known  even  by  the  southern 
students  to  be  abolitionists,  prominent  among  whom  were 
the  Covenanter  students.  But  the  opposition  to  the  agita- 
tion of  the  subject  of  slavery  developed  itself  in  an  effort  to 
get  rid  of  the  anti-slav^ery  president.  Even  many  of  the 
students  were  drawn  into  the  opposition.  Before  the  close 
of  the  academic  j^ear  a  petition  was  circulated  among  the 
students  asking  the  Board  for  the  election  of  a  new 
president,  though  tacitly  for  the  removal  of  President 
Bishop.  The  principal  reason  urged  was  his  alleged  inabil- 
\\.y  because  of  age,  though  he  was  by  no  means  an  old  man. 
The  result  of  this  growing  opposition  to  the  anti-slavery 
sentiment  was  that  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  after 
the  Commencement,  Dr.  George  Junkin,  of  Kentucky,  was 
elected  president.  He  was  the  man  who  had  been  the  leader 
of  the  opposition  to  Dr.  Albert  Barnes  in  the  great  trial 
which  resulted  in  the  division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
into  Old  School  and  New  School.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
the  fact  remains  that  in  the  ranks  of  the  Old  School  were 
the  greatest  number  of  pro-slavery  men,  and  in  the  New 
School  the  greatest  number  of  anti-slavery.  And  this  differ- 
ence characterized  the  two  Schools  until  in  after  years  the 
re-union  occurred. 

The  removal  of  Dr.  Bishop  and  the  election  of  the  South- 
ern Old  School  pro-slavery  president  was  the  beginning  of  the 


AT  THE   UNIVERSITY.  43 

revolutionizing  of  Miami  University.  From  that  day  the 
glory  of  "old  Miami"  began  to  fade  away,  until,  after  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  it  was  suspended  for  a  time  and  did  not 
regain  its  former  standing  among  literary  institutions  until 
a  few  years  ago  when  the  causes  of  its  former  troubles  had 
all  passed  away  into  history. 

This  my  first  year  in  college  was  in  some  ways  an  impor- 
tant formative  year.  I  was  brought  into  contact  with  all 
kinds  of  students  and  with  scholarly  professors  both  of 
whom  had  much  to  do  with  the  shaping  of  my  mind.  To 
my  loss  I  was  almost  wholly  deprived  of  Covenanter  society. 
Mr.  French  and  I  often  walked  on  Sabbath  mornings  four 
miles  to  a  small  prayer-meeting  ("society")  at  the  house  of 
Elder  Robinson  in  Beechwood's  congregation,  then  without 
a  pastor,  and  occasionally,  when  there  was  a  supply  of 
preaching,  six  miles  to  the  church.  But  during  all  the  other 
days  of  the  week  we  were  in  the  company  of  students  and 
professors,  who  with  slight  exceptions,  knew  little  or  nothing 
of  Covenanters.  Except  in  our  literary  society  and  in  occa- 
sional mtercourse  with  students,  we  had  no  favorable  oppor- 
tunity to  propagate  our  principles.  Our  professors  soon 
learned  that  we  were  Covenanters,  but  they  never  troubled 
us  about  our  peculiar  belief,  and  with  only  a  few  of  the 
students  did  we  ever  have  any  controversy.  We  were  there 
for  study,  and  we  were  both  ambitious  to  lead  our  classes. 
Yet  occasionally  we  had  opportunity  to  defend  our  Cov- 
enanter faith  and  practise,  and  I  think  neither  of  us  was  ever 
ashamed  of  them.  With  very  few  of  the  southern  students 
did  we  ever  have  conversations  about  slavery,  but  often  with 
northern  students,  members  of  pro-slavery  churches.  With 
one  of  the  seniors,  a  Kentuckian  and  a  Presbyterian,  I 
became  intimately  acquainted;  indeed,  we  were  warm  friends. 
At  graduation  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  His  father,  now 
deceased,  had  been  a  slaveholder.     To  a  large  number  of 


44      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

slaves  the  son  would  fall  heir  when  he  came  to  majority. 
During  his  university  course  at  Oxford  he  had  become  an 
Abolitionist  in  sentiment.  After  Commencement  when  we 
both  were  leaving  for  our  homes,  we  traveled  together  to 
Cincinnati  and  during  the  journey  he  told  me  that,  whatever 
would  be  the  consequences,  it  was  his  purpose  to  emanci- 
pate every  slave  the  very  day  he  would  become  twenty-one. 
At  Cincinnati  I  went  with  him  to  his  Ohio  River  steamer, 
which  would  take  him  part  way  home.  We  parted  sadly,  and 
yet  I  was  joyful  in  the  hope  that  in  due  time  he  would  loose 
the  bonds  of  those  who  would  shortly  become  by  law  his  chat- 
tels. It  showed  that  not  all  the  worthy  young  men  of  that 
day  were  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 

I  must  not  forget  to  say  that  when  our  freshman  year 
was  closed,  John  French,  my  fellow-student  and  dearly 
beloved  brother  in  Christ,  bade  me  good-by,  he  to  go  to  his 
home  in  Logan  County,  and  I  to  mine  in  Harrison  County, 
as  he  started  first  and  left  me  behind,  I  wept  in  heart.  I 
was  lonely  and  far  from  home  and  seemed  almost  friendless. 
Yet  when  we  parted  we  expected  to  meet  at  college  again 
at  the  opening  of  the  next  year.  We  both  left  our  books 
and  furniture,  intending  to  occupy  the  same  room  on  our 
return.  But  God  had  ordered  it  otherwise.  Probably  I 
would  have  returned  to  my  brothers  at  Logan  County  if 
my  sister  at  the  old  home  had  not  written  me  that  she 
expected  to  be  married  during  my  vacation,  and  that  she 
was  anxious  forme  to  be  at  home  at  the  time.  Accordingly, 
following  the  dictates  of  love  to  parents  and  sister,  at  Cin- 
cinnati I  took  an  Ohio  River  steamer  to  Steubenville,  and  in 
due  time  was  back  at  Brush  Run  and  in  the  old  brick  home 
with  father  and  mother  and  sister.  Whatever  of  trouble  or 
sorrow  I  had  endured  was  now  almost  forgotten.  A  long 
vacation  was  before  me;  sister  was  shortly  to  be  married, 
and  then  I  would  return  to  Oxford  to  take  up  my  sophomore 
studies  with  dear  Mr.  French. 


AT   THE   UNIVERSITY.  45 

Weeks  passed  and  sister's  marriage  was  postponed.  If  I 
would  return  to  college  at  the  opening  of  the  year  I  could 
not  be  at  her  wedding.  Money  to  go  to  college  was  scarce 
if  at  all  obtainable.  My  mother  wished  me  not  to  go  back 
but  to  remain  at  home  for  a  while  and  then  enter  Franklin 
College  at  New  Athens,  only  fifteen  miles  away.  Her  love, 
her  pleas,  my  desire  to  be  at  sister's  marriage,  and  the 
scarcity  of  money,  all  kept  me  at  home  for  the  time. 

After  a  while  sister  was  married  to  Dr.  John  Carter,  of 
Bloomingdale,  a  well-educated  and  skilful  physician  of  the 
old  school,  of  Presbyterian  education,  and  a  Free  Mason 
though  not  a  lodge  attender.  After  a  while,  through  the 
influence  of  his  Covenanter  wife,  he  changed  his  creed  and 
abandoned  Masonry  and  gradually  became  a  zealous  Cov- 
enanter and  a  foe  to  the  lodge. 

That  I  might  make  a  little  money  for  present  and  future 
needs,  I  engaged  to  teach  school  in  a  country  district  adja- 
cent to  that  in  which  I  had  received,  my  own  primary  edu- 
cation. The  wages  promised  were  $i8  per  month.  The 
schoolhouse  was  only  about  two  miles  distant,  so  that  I 
could  board  at  home.  My  walk  was  mostly  through  the 
woods  lying  between  the  farms  on  the  right  and  left.  My 
love  for  the  forest,  always  strong,  increased.  The  oppor- 
tunity for  meditation  was  favorable.  Health  was  promoted. 
The  house  was  a  first-class  log  cabin.  The  school  was  large. 
The  scholars'  ages  ranged  from  six  up  to  twenty  or  more. 
The  young  men  and  young  women,  "boys  and  girls,"  had 
studied  the  common-school  branches  more  or  less  every 
winter  for  years,  and  some  of  them  had  "ciphered"  through 
the  arithmetic  several  times  and  knew  more  about  the  text- 
book than  did  the  teacher.  But  as  he  had  been  at  college 
and  had  studied  algebra  and  geometry,  he  was  supposed  to, 
be  able  to  teach  the  best  of  the  scholars.  It  was  quite  prob- 
able, however,  that  at  home  the  teacher  spent  more  time  than 


46  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LANjj. 

any  of  his  scholars  "working  out"  the  difficult  arithmetical 
problems  in  the  text-book  he  had  not  seen  before.  But  the 
teaching  was  not  so  difficult  as  the  governing.  In  this  I 
was  not  prepared;  and  I  know  now  that  I  made  many  a 
blunder  of  which  I  was  ashamed  afterwards.  But  my  first 
term  of  country  school-teaching  must  have  been  regarded  as 
at  least  a  partial  success,  for  I  was  employed  to  teach  a 
second.  At  its  expiration  I  immediately  left  home  for  New 
Athens  to  resume  my  college  course. 

Franklin  College  was  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  state.  New 
Athens,  a  village  in  Harrison  County,  was  in  a  community 
largely  Presbyterian.  Of  Associate  and  Associate  Re- 
formed Churches  there  were  several  in  the  county.  Proba- 
bly the  most  influential  man  in  the  founding  of  the  college 
was  Rev.  John  Walker,  pastor  of  an  Associate  Church 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  town.  The  members  of  the  faculty 
from  the  first  were  nearly  all  members  of  some  of  the 
Presbyterian  Churches.-  During  the  early  years  of  the  insti- 
tution the  president  was  a  Presbyterian.  John  Armstrong, 
professor  of  mathematics,  and  eminent  in  his  profession,  was 
a  Covenanter.  The  "Seceder"  influence,  however,  was,  no 
doubt,  the  strongest.  Rev.  John  Walker,  the  leading  spirit 
in  the  Board  of  Trustees,  was  a  very  earnest  Abolition- 
ist; and  in  the  entire  community  anti-slavery  principles  had 
leavened  society  to  some  extent.  The  majority  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  were  Abolitionists.  Soon  after  I  entered  college. 
Rev.  Dr.  Edwin  H.  Nevin  was  elected  president.  He  was 
a  Presb3'terian,  an  outspoken  anti-slavery  man,  and  an 
eloquent  public  speaker.  As  the  question  of  slavery  was 
now  agitating  the  college  circles.  Dr.  Nevin  was  most  proba- 
bly elected  president  more  for  his  anti-.slavery  principles  and 
his  eloquence  than  for  his  scholarship.  Rev.  Andrew  T. 
Black,  first  professor  of  languages,  was  a  Seceder  and  an 
abolitionist.     Prof.   Geo.  K.  Jenkins,  of  the  department  of 


AT   THE   UNIVERSITY.  47 

mathematics,  was  an  orthodox  Friend  (Quaker),  and,  of 
course,  anti-slavery.  One  of  the  tutors,  or  assistant  professor, 
was  a  Seceder  and  presumably  anti-slavery ;  another  was  a 
Presbyterian  and  conservative.  Nearly  all  the  students 
were  mature  young  men,  and  the  majority  of  them  were 
Presbyterians  and  Methodists;  a  large  minority  were  Seced- 
ers  and  Associate  Reformed.  During  my  stay  I  was  the  only 
Covenanter. 

All  the  years  of  my  college  life  in  Franklin  I  was  obliged 
to  study  strict  economy,  and  in  finances  and  for  the  want  of 
money  I  was  deprived  of  many  things  necessary  to  health 
and  comfort  as  well  as  education.  Most  of  the  time  I 
boarded  with  Mrs.  Moody,  an  excellent  Christian  woman 
who  kept  three  other  boarders,  all  Christian  young  men. 
During  a  large  part  of  the  junior  year,  however,  I  roomed 
alone  and  kept  "bachelor's  hall."  This  had  two  advantages: 
it  was  more  economic,  and  it  was  favorable  to  close  study 
and  private  devotion.  During  that  junior  college  year  I 
think  I  accomplished  more  in  my  studies  than  in  any  other. 
The  larger  half  was  done  at  night.  New  Athens  had 
no  gas  works.  Kerosene  oil  had  not  yet  been  discovered. 
For  much  of  my  student's  lore  I  am  indebted  to  the  historical 
tallow  candle.  Snuffers  were  an  indispensable  institution. 
Mine  were  my  mother's  gift  when  leaving  home  for  college. 
My  first-born  daughter  has  fallen  heir  to  them.  To  such  a 
luxury  as  the  tallow  candle,  and  the  whole  light  of  it  for  one 
student!  college  boys  of  to-day  are  strangers.  And  let  not 
these  boast  of  "midnight  oil,"  for  "there  were  giants  in 
those  days,"  the  days  of  the  dipped  tallow  candle.  And 
the  candlestick,  too;  it  must  not  be  forgotten.  To  this  day 
bright  visions  of  the  old  1)rass  candlestick  rise  up  in  the 
chambers  of  niemorj^  with  hallowed  associations. 

During  my  college  life  at  Franklin  my  Sabbath  privileges 
were    limited.     In   the    town    there    was    no   psalm-singing 


48       LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

church.  I  was  fifteen  miles  from  home  where  my  pastor 
preached  only  on  alternate  Sabbaths.  There  was  no  public 
conveyance  between  the  two  places;  and  so  I  had  my  choice 
to  be  an  "occasional  hearer,"  or  to  remain  in  my  room  and 
spend  the  day  in  reading,  or  to  walk  home  to  spend  my 
Sabbaths  with  those  who  loved  me,  and  in  the  old  church 
of  the  Covenanters.  Without  any  attempt  to  justify  myself 
I  only  record  the  fact  that  I  compromised  between  the  three. 
I  rarely  attended  preaching  in  the  town.  Many  of  my  Sab- 
baths I  spent  alone,  but  I  never  studied  any  college  lessons. 
Only  rehgious  books  were  read.  They  were  obtained  mostly 
from  the  library  of  my  literary  society.  Among  those  re- 
membered were  the  volumes  of  Neal's  "History  of  the  Puri- 
tans." Many  of  my  Sabbaths  were  spent  at  home.  lyove 
drew  me  there.  The  desire  to  worship  in  the  old  church 
with  father  and  mother,  sister  and  brother,  and  those  whose 
faith  I  believed  to  be  scriptural,  had  much  to  do  with  my 
going  so  far  for  Sabbath  services.  Asking  leave  of  absence 
from  my  Monday  A.  m.  recitations,  my  custom  was  to  walk 
home  on  Saturday  p.  m.,  my  road  leading  through  Cadiz, 
the  county  seat  of  Harrison  County.  In  those  days  a  walk 
of  fifteen  miles  was  easy.  To  fatigue,  the  student  footman 
was  almost  a  stranger.  When  Monday  morning  came  my 
mother  gave  me  an  early  breakfast  and  hurried  me  off  in 
time  to  be  at  my  boarding-house  for  dinner.  These  long 
and  frequent  walks  might  have  been  avoided  if  the  student 
had  not  loved  home  or  the  Covenanter  Church,  or  if  he  had 
been  favored  with  plenty  of  money  to  hire  a  livery  stable 
conveyance;  but  they  gave  him  many  outings  and  conse- 
quent rest  from  close  study,  and  they  were  so  health- 
promoting  that  he  had  no  need  of  a  gymnasium  and  rarely 
need  of  athletics  of  any  kind  except  frequent  and  .short 
walks  in  the  adjacent  grove.  Indeed,  Franklin  had  no 
gymnasium,    and   probably    healthier   and   more   muscular 


AT   THE    UNIVERv<>lTY.  49 

students  were  to  be  found  in  no  college  in  the  whole  country. 

In  the  junior  year  all  the  students  of  the  class  gave  what 
were  called  the  junior  orations.  Their  delivery  gave  occa- 
sion for  the  students'  first  appearance  in  public.  Every 
orator  selected  his  own  subject.  Mine  was  John  Quincy 
Adams.  It  was  a  eulogy  upon  the  anti-slavery  ex-president 
as  the  distinguished  advocate  of  the  right  of  petition.  For 
years  while  he  was  in  Congress  most  of  the  petitions  that 
went  up  from  all  parts  of  the  north,  asking  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  were  sent  to  Mr. 
Adams,  and  he  always  presented  them.  For  this  the  south- 
ern members  hated  him.  When  he  presented  a  petition 
asking  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  between  the  north 
and  the  slave  holding  states,  the  House  of  Representatives 
voted  to  expel  him.  He  went  back  home  as  an  exile  be- 
cause of  his  claim  that  the  people's  right  of  petition  must 
be  recognized  and  guarded.  His  constituents  promptly  sent 
him  back  again  to  his  seat  in  the  House  where  he  continued 
an  honored  and  active  member  until  the  day  and  hour  of 
his  death. 

To  the  ordinary  college  student  his  literary  society  is  of 
great  benefit.  In  Franklin  there  were  only  two,  the  Phil- 
osophical and  the  Jeffersonian.  These  were  not  secret 
societies,  but  the  rivalry^their  desire  to  excel  in  the  liter- 
ary exercises  of  both — ran  so  high  that  the  doors  of  both 
were  ordinarily  closed  against  each  other;  and,  except 
members  of  the  faculty,  no  person  was  allowed  to  enter 
unless  by  vote  of  the  society.  The  spirit  of  rivalry  arose 
to  its  greatest  height  before  the  annual  contests,  and  after 
the  contestors  had  been  chosen  each  society  made  great 
efforts  to  conceal  from  the  rival  society  who  the  contestors 
were.  Ordinarily  these  were  not  known  by  any  of  the  other 
society  until  they  appeared  on  the  stage  the  evening  of  the 
contest.  As  a  member  of  the  "Philo"  Society  I  sup- 
4 


50      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

pose  I  was  a  partisan,  and  I  labored  hard  during  all  my 
college  course  to  excel  in  the  society's  exercises.  These  con- 
sisted in  declamations,  essays,  debates,  and  orations.  The 
greatest  honor  was  awarded  to  the  student  who  was  the 
most  regular  in  attendance  and  who  was  the  most  punctual 
in  performing  his  well-prepared  literary  exercises.  I  know 
I  was  ambitious  to  excel,  and  I  confess  that  I  sought  literary 
honor.  Several  times  it  was  bestowed,  and  especially  when 
in  my  senior  year  I  was  chosen  to  be  the  orator  to  represent 
the  "Philos."  It  came  about  in  this  way:  At  the  first 
election  I  was  chosen  to  be  the  debater.  According  to 
custom  the  question  had  been  selected  by  the  Philo 
Society,  and  then  the  choice  of  sides  was  the  privilege  of 
the  Jeffersonian  Society.  The  question  involved  not  only 
moral  principle  but  also  the  civil  duties  of  a  political  citi- 
zen. The  other  society  chose,  as  I  thought,  the  side  on 
which  the  truth  lay.  I  could  not  have  debated  in  favor  of 
the  side  that  fell  to  me  to  advocate;  and  in  this  opinion 
my  society  did  not  agree  with  me.  I  positively  declined  to 
debate  in  favor  of  a  proposition  I  did  not  believe.  The  dif- 
ficult}^ was  the  greater  because  the  question  involved  moral 
principle  in  civil  relations.  I  was  honorably  excused  and 
another  debater  was  elected.  Subsequently  I  was  chosen  to 
give  the  oration.  My  subject  selected  was,  "Proper  Moral 
and  Religious  Principles  Essential  to  the  Welfare  of  the 
Nation,"  or  words  to  that  efiect.  In  the  preparation  of  the 
oration  I  labored  hard.  When  the  two  orators  appeared  on 
the  rostrum  my  rival  proved  to  be  William  Brown,  very 
tall,  and  considerably  older  than  I.  His  theme  was,  "The 
Statesman's  Influence."  The  oration  was  good,  very  good, 
and  very  well  delivered.  His  style  of  oratory  was  popular. 
But  the  tree  bore  more  flowers  than  fruit.  The  style  was 
so  ornamental  that  good  critics  would  call  it  bombastic. 
Perhaps  this  had  much   influence  upon  the  judges  of  the 


AT   THE    UNIVER.SITY.  5 1 

contest  who  awarded  the  honor  to  the  Philo  student, 
four  thus  voting  and  the  fifth  dividing  the  honor  between 
the  two  contestants.  Of  course  the  Philo  contestor  did 
not  disHke  the  decision.  Indeed,  he  can  not  deny  that 
he  was  lifted  up  with  pride.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been 
better  for  him  if  he  had  lost  the  honor,  for  what  is  more  dan- 
gerous than  pride?  and  what  is  more  beautiful  than  humility? 
In  their  decision  as  to  the  merits  of  all  the  exercises  the 
judges  awarded  three  honors  to  the  Philos,  viz.,  the 
declamation,  the  oration,  and  the  debate,  and  one  to  the 
Jeffersonians,  namely,  the  essay.  After  the  decision  of  the 
judges  had  been  announced,  and  while  the  Philos  and 
their  friends  were  giving  great  applause,  my  rival  love 
of  my  own  society  was  so  strong,  and  my  joy  so  unconceal- 
able,  that  I  instinctively  and  heartily  joined  in  the  applause. 
My  fellow-students  saw  my  thoughtless  lack  of  modesty  and 
laughed  at  me,  and  rightly.  And  yet  I  almost  forgot  the 
unspoken  reprimand  when,  after  we  came  out  of  the  church 
where  the  contest  was,  some  of  the  rejoicing  Philos  seized 
me  and  carried  me  on  their  shoulders  to  my  boarding- 
house.  How  much  I  slept  that  night  I  do  not  now  remem- 
ber, but  in  my  pride  I  suppose  I  forgot  the  words  of  the 
wise  man,  "Be  of  a  humble  spirit  with  the  lowly." 

During  my  junior  year  I  became  intimately  acquainted 
with  a  fellow-student,  William  Robinson,  a  senior,  to  whose 
memory  I  owe  more  than  I  can  express.  He  was  a  Presby- 
terian of  manifest  piety,  intellectual,  modest,  and  gentle- 
manly in  deportment.  As  my  acquaintance  with  him  grew 
into  intimacy  it  gradually  ripened  into  a  friendship  and 
unspoken  affection  that  has  been  lifelong.  I  think  it  was 
mutual;  and  I  hope  it  will  be  undying.  After  more  than 
half  a  century  I  can  not  remember  what  led  to  our  first  inti- 
mate acquaintance;  and  it  would  hardly  be  expected,  for  we 
were  not  of  the  same  college  class,  nor  of  the  same  church. 


52  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   vSUNSET    LAND. 

But  I  remember  this,  that  he  was  poor;  that  for  a  time  we 
both  boarded  ourselves,  each  in  his  own  room  in  different 
parts  of  the  village;  that,  owing  to  some  irregularity  in  his 
studies,  he  recited  one  term  in  my  class  in  Homer's  Iliad. 
And  after  we  both  had  thoroughly  studied  our  daily  lessons, 
we  met  in  one  of  our  rooms  and  read  the  lesson  together  to 
see  if  in  our  own  judgment  we  had  translated  it  accurately. 
We  had  no  "ponies"  in  those  days.  I  never  saw  one  or 
knew  that  there  were  such  books  until  long  after  I  had  left 
college.  Having  thus  studied  our  Homer  we  believed  that 
we  were  ready  for  the  recitation  room. 

Mr.  Robin.son  graduated  in  1842.  It  was  his  desire  to 
study  theology,  but  he  was  too  poor.  Being  straightened 
in  finances  it  was  his  purpose  to  teach  school  for  a  while. 
He  thought  of  going  into  the  south  for  this  purpose,  and  he 
tried  to  persuade  me  to  join  him,  but  as  I  had  one  more 
year  in  college  and  could  not  go  then  if  at  all,  his  plans 
were  modified.  Partly  that  we  might  be  together  a  little 
longer,  and  partly  in  the  hope  that  we  could  make  a  little 
money  in  our  time  of  need,  before  his  graduation  we  planned 
a  lecturing  tour.  President  Nevin  had  recently  given 
astronomical  lectures  in  college,  using  the  magic  lantern  and 
appropriate  diagrams  for  help.  He  wanted  to  sell  them, 
and  we  bought  them.  A  genius  of  my  acquaintance  had 
invented  a  new  kind  of  electrical  machine  that  he  wished 
men  of  science  to  see.  So  we  arranged  to  spend  our 
vacation  in  a  lecturing  tour  on  astronomy  and  electricity. 
He  may  have  known  more  of  both  sciences  than  I  did,  but 
I  am  now  sure  that  I  did  not  know  how  little  I  knew  of 
either.  "A  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing."  Begin- 
ning at  Amsterdam,  Jefferson  County,  Ohio,  the  residence  of 
my  uncle  David  Johnston,  and  next  night  at  Carrolton, 
where  we  were  met  by  Rev.  Mr.  Robinson,  pastor  of  a 
Presbyterian  Church  and  brother  of  ray  friend,  we  traveled 


AT  THE   UNIVERSITY.  53 

in  a  kind  of  serai-circular  route,  stopping  at  the  larger  towns. 
The  graduate  lectured  one  evening  and  the  other  was  door- 
keeper and  received  the  entrance  moneys.  Next  night  the 
junior  lectured  and  the  graduate  was  doorkeeper.  The 
quality  of  the  lectures  and  how  many  crowded  houses  we 
had  may  easily  be  guessed.  Our  last  lectures  were  at 
Dresden  on  the  Muskingum  River.  Our  aggregate  expenses 
had  exceeded  our  receipts.  On  leaving  our  hotel  the  next 
morning  we  had  not  money  sufficient  to  take  us  down  to 
Zanesville.  We  pawned  our  trunk  and  departed.  At  Zanes- 
ville,  or  Putnam  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  I  borrowed 
five  dollars  from  Rev.  John  Wallace  and  redeemed  the 
trunk.  Mr.  Robinson  found  a  friend  in  West  Zanesville 
through  whose  influence  he  obtained  a  school  and  so 
remained  to  teach.  Meditating  upon  the  vicissitudes  of 
student  life  and  the  folly  of  two  unknown  collegians  hoping 
to  make  money  by  scientific  lectures  to  unscientific  people 
in  obscure  towns,  I  took  the  stage  to  New  Athens  to  resume 
my  studies.  Whether  I  was  exalted  or  humbled  may 
easily  be  supposed;  and  the  reader  can  as  easily  guess  that 
the  "strapped"  student  did  not  wish  to  be  interrogated  as  to 
his  success  in  his  lecturing  tour.  Nevertheless,  it  was  not 
all  loss;  and  I  never  regretted  that  I  had  such  an  opportu- 
nity to  be  so  long  with  ray  beloved  friend.  I  never  saw  him 
again.  After  teaching  a  year  in  Zanesville,  and  hoping  that 
after  graduation  I  would  go  with  him  into  the  south  to 
teach  awhile,  he  departed  alone.  He  went  to  Fulton, 
Hickman  County,  Kentucky,  married,  became  a  father,  and 
at  last  word  was  living,  a  happy  old  man.  It  is  pleasant  to 
hope  that  we  shall  meet  again  in  unfading  youth  in  the 
Father's  house.* 

*  Since  tlie   above  was  written  I  have   received  a  letter  from   his 
daughter  that  her  father  had  departed  this  life. 


54  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THB    SUNSET    LAND. 

Franklin  College  could  not  escape  from  the  influences  of 
the  anti-slav^ery  agitation  now  growing  rapidly  all  over  the 
north.  A  majority  of  her  students  were  Abolitionists  more 
or  less  outspoken.  Every  member  of  the  faculty  was  anti- 
slavery  the  president  a  zealous  and  fearless  antagonist  of 
slavery  whether  tolerated  in  the  church  or  fostered  by  the 
government.  In  the  literary  societies  the  question  was 
discussed  freely.  The  outspoken  pro-slavery  students  were 
few  in  number.  The  conservatives  and  the  apologizers  for 
slavery  were  outnumbered  when  debates  involved  the 
questions  of  frtedom.  The  Board  of  Trustees  could  not 
escape  from  the  growing  agitation.  The  pro-slavery 
members  and  those  who  saw  that  the  college  was  in  danger 
of  becoming  a  hot-bed  of  abolition  excitement,  feared  that 
the  peace  of  "our  church"  would  be  disturbed.  As  the 
college  was  in  debt,  the  leading  pro  slavery  member  of  the 
board,  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  claim  to  get  rid  of  the  obnoxious  Abolition- 
ists. By  law  he  secured  a  claim  against  the  institution  and 
put  the  property  up  at  auction.  The  pro-slavery  party 
bought  it  at  sheriff's  sale.  A  new  Board  of  Trustees  was 
organized;  a  new  faculty  was  elected;  and  the  new  rival 
institution  was  dubbed  "  Providence  College."  Few 
students  came;  and  before  the  pro-slavery  college  was 
ready  to  walk  alone  it  died  of  starvation  and  was  buried 
without  honors.  We  never  learned  whether  the  funeral 
services  were  conducted  according  to  Masonic  rites  or 
Christian;  nor  did  we  ever  hear  whether  or  not  the  defenders 
of  the  cherished  "patriarchal  institution"  erected  on  the 
grave  a  monument  "sacred  to  the  memory  of  Providence 
College." 

To  .show  how  most  of  the  students  felt,  and  to  follow  the 
order  of  time,  it  .should  have  been  written  sooner  that  the 
first  Saturday  after  the  college  buildings  were  sold,   and  to 


AT  THK   UNIVERSITY.  55 

carry  out  their  resolutions  the  evening  before,  the  students 
of  both  literary  societies,  with  their  own  hands,  emptied  both 
halls  of  all  the  property, — furniture,  Hbraries,  and  cabinets, 
and  had  all  carted  away  to  new  rooms  or  halls  made  ready  to 
receive  them.  The  people  of  the  town,  whether  Abolitionists 
or  pro-slavery,  were  excited  spectators,  some  of  them  help- 
ing the  students.  To  the  pro-slavery  party  it  was  an 
unexpected  and  almost  death  blow.  On  the  next  Monday 
morning  recitations  began  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  and 
adjacent  rooms.  Franklin  College  survived  and  Providence 
College  soon  died,  as  if  a  prophecy  of  the  great  events  nearer 
at  hand  than  even  the  friends  of  the  slave  could  foresee. 
The  old  bell  that  remained  with  the  old  building  soon 
became  silent.  On  the  new  bell,  cast  for  the  new  edifice, 
was  the  memorable  command,  "Proclaim  liberty  throughout 
all  the  land  and  to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof,"  forshadow- 
ing  the  coming  glad  day  of  the  lyord  when  the  chains  of 
nearly  four  millions  of  chattel  slaves  were  broken  by  the 
proclamation  of  emancipation  when  the  blood  of  the  Civil 
War  was  flowing  like  rivers. 

Prior  to  and  during  the  years  of  my  college  life  co- 
education in  the  literary  institutions  of  the  country  was 
almost  unknown.  A  very  few,  like  Oberlin,  admitted  female 
students.  Franklin  had  none.  If  no  young  women  applied 
for  admission  it  was  not  so  much  because  of  opposition  to 
co-education  as  because  it  had  not  been  the  custom.  As  in 
female  seminaries  young  men  were  not  admitted,  and  are 
excluded  yet  and  wisely,  so  in  most  of  the  colleges  young 
ladies  were  not  desired.  In  subsequent  years  a  gradual 
change  came  and  co-education  now  is  not  the  exception  but 
the  rule.  Whether  this  change  has  advanced  the  cause  of 
higher  education  and  should  be  continued  must  depend 
much  upon  whether  or  not  there  is  in  the  faculty  parental 
authority.  With  good  rules  rightly  enforced  co-education 
may  be  proper,  otherwise  it  is  believed  to  be  an  evil. 


56  LOOKING    BACK    PROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND.    " 

The  graduates  of  1843  were  few — only  seven.  The  stand- 
ing of  the  Covenanter  student  in  the  class  may  have  been 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  to  him  was  awarded  what  was 
called  the  "first  honor,"  viz. ,  the  Greek  Oration  at  the  Com- 
mencement. But  one  thing  is  certain,  the  honored  graduate 
would  have  preferred  to  translate  the  whole  of  Demosthenes 
de  Corona  rather  than  to  prepare  and  deliver  that  Greek 
Oration  to  which  almost  none  gave  attention  except  his 
Greek  professor. 

Thus  closed  my  college  years.  They  were  too  short. 
This  I  did  not  know  then  as  well  as  subsequently.  And 
here  I  record  my  advice  to  all  Christian  students,  viz.,  that 
in  pursuing  college  studies  they  hasten  slowly.  Too  often, 
if  not  generally,  the  scholarship  of  graduates  is  much  lower 
than  it  should  be.  Study  to  excel,  not  for  the  sake  of  ex- 
celling but  for  the  sake  of  what  is  gained  in  order  to  excel. 
The  course  of  study  may  not  be  insufficient,  but  the  evil  is 
that  too  few  master  it. 

On  bidding  good-by  to  my  fellow  graduates  I  parted  with 
a  class  of  noble  young  men  whom  I  had  learned  to  love. 
Five  of  them  became  students  of  theology  and  useful  pastors. 
Except  the  writer  they  have  all  passed  over  to  the  other 
side. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Two  Years  of  a  Teacher's  Life. 

It  had  long  been  my  desire  to  become  a  student  of  theol- 
ogy and  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  I  would  have 
entered  the  seminary  the  next  session  after  leaving  college 
if  I  had  not  been  destitute  of  the  necessary  funds.  Besides, 
in  my  wish  to  continue  in  and  graduate  with  my  class  of 
1843  I  had  incurred  debt  to  my  good  landlady  who  kindly 
agreed  to  wait  with  me  for  the  payment.  Hoping  to  be 
able  to  make  some  money  by  teaching,  through  the  kindness 
of  my  former  teacher  and  friend,  David  Tidball,  then  a 
teacher  in  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  a  door  was  opened  for  me  in 
that  town.  There  was  no  school  in  the  place  except  the 
public  schools.  In  the  late  autumn  of  1843  I  hired  a  room, 
issued  a  circular  and  advertised  in  the  papers  that  at  such  a 
date  I  would  open  the  St.  Clairsville  High  School.  On  the 
first  day  only  thirteen  students  were  enrolled.  I  was  almost 
a  total  stranger  in  the  old  and  aristocratic  town;  and  had  it 
not  been  for  my  friend  Tidball  and  his  brother.  Rev.  J.  C. 
Tidball,  then  studying  law,  I  might  have  opened  a  school 
without  scholars.  I  persevered,  however,  and  before  the 
end  of  the  first  term  the  number  had  increased  so  as  to  need 
a  larger  room.  I  rented  a  hall  on  Main  street,  divided  it 
into  two  parts  by  a  movable  partition,  employed  a  young 
lady  assistant  teacher,  and  opened  the  second  term  with  a 
large  increase  of  students.  At  the  opening  of  the  second 
year  another  class-room  and  a  second  assistant  teacher  were 
necessary.     As    there   were   several  classes   in    the   higher 

(57) 


58  LOOKING    BACK    FROIVI   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

branches  and  college  studies  which  the  assistants  could  not 
teach,  and  as  some  of  these  studies,  as  botany,  and  "Geo- 
graphy of  the  Heavens"  (Burritt's),  had  not  been  in  my 
college  course,  I  was  obliged  to  study  hard  to  be  able  to 
teach  my  too  numerous  classes.  Many  a  midnight  hour 
found  me  yet  at  study  to  be  ready  to  hear  my  next  day's  reci- 
tations. And  though  ray  energies  were  too  severely  taxed 
and  ray  health  endangered,  yet  at  the  end  of  two  years  my 
store  of  knowledge,  or  what  we  call  education,  was  increased 
and  I  better  prepared  to  enter  the  Theological  Seminary. 

Though  ray  debt  had  been  canceled  and  a  High  School 
built  up  that  had  the  favor  of  the  friends  of  education,  it 
could  hardly  be  called  a  paying  institution.  Low  tuition 
fees,  high  boarding  bills,  high  rents,  teachers'  salaries,  and 
many  incidentals  had  prevented  me  from  accumulating  as 
much  as  I  had  hoped.  But  as  a  good  school  had  been 
established  I  could  easily  have  been  persuaded  to  reraain  if 
there  had  not  been  strong  inducements  to  the  contrary. 
Not  until  afterwards  did  I  see  or  feel  the  hand  that  led  rae. 

During  those  two  years  in  St.  Clairsville  I  was  almost 
unavoidably  thrown  into  fashionable  society.  I  came  into 
contact  with  the  educated  and  refined,  but  in  the  gay  circle 
God  was  forgotten,  and  religion,  even  though  many  were 
church-members  and  all  church-goers,  was  ignored.  The 
pleasurable  took  the  place  of  the  profitable,  and  often  in 
the  social  party  the  silly  play  or  the  promiscuous  dance  was 
introduced.  No  doubt  I  enjoyed  the  society  of  the  intelli- 
gent and  refined,  but  often  after  having  spent  an  evening  in 
such  a  manner  when  I  retired  to  my  own  room  I  was  un- 
happy in  the  belief  that  precious  time  had  been  lost  if  not 
also  spent  sinfully.  I  found  that  others  were  of  the  same 
mind,  and  the  result  was  the  formation  of  a  select  literary 
society  whose  members  agreed  to  decline  all  invitations  to 
the  fashionable  parties.      Ever}^  week  we  had  a  most  enjoy- 


TWO   YEARS   OF   A   TEACHER'S   LIEE.  59 

able  and  profitable  evening  spent  in  literary  exercises. 
Though  this  was  done  more  for  our  own  profit  than  to  reform 
society,  yet  after  a  while  the  mere  pleasure-seeking  social 
parties  almost  ceased  to  be.  In  after  years  many  a  time  I 
silently  exclaimed,  O!  the  follies  of  youth!  And  how  long- 
suffering  the  patience  of  our  heavenly  Father  towards  his 
sinful  children! 

During  these  years  I  suffered  much  loss  for  want  of  the 
society  of  brethren  in  the  church.  I  was  far  away  from  a 
Covenanter  Congregation.  In  the  town  there  was  not  an- 
other Covenanter.  I  generally  attended  either  the  Associate 
Reformed  Church  or  the  Presbyterian.  Probably  I  was 
often  induced  to  go  to  the  latter  because  of  the  influence  of 
my  friend  Tidball  and  because  many  of  the  students  in  the 
High  School  were  from  Presbytcrrian  families.  At  one  time 
the  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school  pressed  me  into 
service  as  a  teacher  of  a  class  of  boys  of  about  sixteen  years. 
But  I  soon  became  discouraged  at  their  lack  of  study  and 
their  ungovernable  habits,  and  gave  up  the  class  and  attended 
the  school  no  more.  Besides,  I  had  soon  discovered  that  a 
Presbyterian  Sabbath  school  was  a  poor  place  for  a  Cove- 
nanter young  man  to  be.  Soon  after  this  I  was  wailed  upon 
by  a  committee  of  young  people,  mostly  teachers  in  the  Sab- 
bath school,  who  invited  me  to  teach  a  class  of  such  in  the 
afternoon  and  independent  of  the  school.  I  was  glad  to  do 
so.  We  studied  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  I  think  most 
diligently.  And  this  was  my  first  pleasant  experience  as  a 
teacher  of  Bible  lessons. 

About  this  time  occurred  an  incident  that  after  explana- 
tion may  be  recorded  here  because  of  its  connection  with 
the  temperance  reform.  During  the  months  preceding  and 
especially  in  the  St.  Clairsville  Lyceum  I  had  formed  a 
somewhat  intimate  acquaintance  with  a  young  lawyer,  a 
Quaker,  and  a  very  active  friend  of  the  temperance  reform. 


6o  LOOKING   BACK   I^ROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

At  that  time  in  the  Ohio  Legislature  there  was  a  bill  pend- 
ing with  reference  to  the  liquor  traffic.  It  was  not  as  radi- 
cal as  that  afterwards  passed  by  the  lyCgislature  of  Maine, 
but  it  was  similar,  as  it  was  prohibitory  in  its  aim  and  tend- 
ency. A  public  meeting  had  been  called  in  the  town  of 
Belmont,  a  few  miles  distant,  and  my  young  friend,  the 
Quaker  lawyer,  was  invited  to  give  oae  of  the  addresses 
and  to  bring  a  second  speaker  with  him  to  give  the  other. 
He  asked  me  to  go  with  him.  Never  before  had  I  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  temperance  speech,  and  so  I  embraced 
this.  I  knew  I  was  not  master  of  the  subject  but  I  dtter- 
mined  to  do  the  best  I  could.  It  was  to  be  my  maiden 
temperance  speech.  To  a  full  house  I  argued  in  favor  of 
the  entire  prohibition  of  the  liqu:)r  traffic  by  civil  enactment. 
I  remember  even  yet  an  argument  which  I  u.sed  in  answer 
to  the  objection  that  the  people  are  not  prepared  for  such 
advanced  legislation,  viz.,  that  the  existence  of  a  state  law 
and  its  proper  and  faithful  enforcement  are  educators,  and 
partly  because  the  majority  of  the  ordinary  citizens  not 
skilled  in  the  principles  of  law  look  no  higher  for  the  stand- 
ard of  right  than  the  existence  of  an  enforced  Civil  Code. 
Both  the  speeches  were  in  favor  of  the  positive  and  imme- 
diate prohibition  of  the  hquor  traffic;  and  though  this  was 
in  the  year  1844  or  1845,  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  I 
think  my  sentiments  in  favor  of  prohibition  have  never 
been  more  radical  than  these  expressed  in  that  "maiden 
speech." 

Early  in  the  month  of  January,  1845,  learning  that  my 
father  was  in  feeble  health  I  visited  home  and  found  him 
quite  sick.  He  evidently  thought  it  was  his  last  sickness, 
for  before  I  left  home  to  return  to  my  post  of  labor  he  called 
me  to  his  bedside  and  gave  me  most  earnest  and  affection- 
ate advice  and  all  about  my  religious  duties.  A  week  or 
two  afterwards  a  messenger  came  from  home  to  St.  Clairs- 


TWO   YEARS   OF   A   TEACHER'S   LIFE.  6l 

ville  to  inform  me  that  my  father  was  not  expected  to  live 
long  and  hastened  me  home.  Dismissing  the  school  and 
procuring  a  horse  and  saddle  I  rode  nearly  all  night.  It 
was  a  dark  and  cold  winter  night.  I  reached  home  before 
daylight  but  not  until  after  my  father's  eyes  were  closed  in 
death.  My  now  widowed  mother  met  me  and  embraced 
me,  a  fatherless  son,  and  took  me  to  the  death-chamber. 
In  sorrow  such  as  I  had  never  known  before  we  stood  and 
wept  together.  Bitter  were  the  tears  shed  as  there  came  to 
me  the  recollection  of  how  often  I  had  sinned  against  the 
loving  and  faithful  father  whom  God  had  now  taken  from 
me  to  himself.  More  than  ever  I  loved  him,  and  more  than 
ever  I  loved  and  clung  to  my  mother.  In  sorrow  unknown 
before  I  rode  with  her  to  the  burial  in  the  old  graveyard  at 
the  Beechspring  Presbyterian  Church  where  were  the  graves 
of  Grandmother  and  Grandfather  Black.  Turning  away 
from  the  newly-made  grave  and  kissing  my  mother  good-by, 
I  hastened  back  to  my  work  praying  that  my  heavenly 
Father  would  not  only  comfort  and  sustain  her  but  make 
her  son  more  worthy  of  such  parents. 

Some  time  during  my  second  year  in  the  High  School  I 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  Franklin  College  student  from 
New  Concord,  Ohio,  to  whom  afterwards  as  a  theological 
student  I  became  attached.  It  came  about  in  this  way. 
He  had  not  entered  college  until  after  my  departure,  but 
while  I  was  teaching  in  St.  Clairsville  I  was  invited  to 
address  the  Philo  literary  society.  The  addre-s  was  given 
before  a  mixed  assembly  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  As  I 
came  down  from  the  rostrum  I  was  introduced  to  the  stu- 
dent, William  F.  George,  a  Covenanter.  Though  he  was 
not  a  member  of  my  college  society,  we  were  bound  by  a 
stronger  tie,  the  bond  of  church  brotherhood;  and  yet  I 
confess  I  would  have  been  glad  if  he  had  been  a  Philo,  for 
from   the  first  nearly  all  the  Covenanter  students  had  been 


62  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

members  of  that  society.  At  that  meeting,  however,  neither 
of  us  knew  what  was  before  us;  we  knew  only  this,  that 
we  were  brothers  in  the  church,  and  that  probably  we  might 
some  day  be  fellow-students  in  the  seminary. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Theological   Studies. 

At  the  R.  P.  Synod  of  May,  1845,  the  theological  seminary 
was  removed  from  Allegheny,  Pa.,  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  I 
think  that  my  brother  J.  B.  Johnston  had  feared  that  I  might 
abandon  my  purpose  of  studying  theology  and  make  teach- 
ing my  profession,  for  after  the  action  of  Synod  he  opened  a 
correspondence  with  me  urging  me  to  leave  the  St.  Clairs- 
ville  school  and  enter  the  seminary  when  it  would  be  opened 
in  its  new  location  and  under  the  professorship  of  old  Dr. 
J.  R.  Willson.  I  yielded  to  his  persuasions,  and  as  soon  as 
convenient  arranged  for  entering  the  seminary. 

At  the  close  of  the  summer  session  I  resigned  the  charge 
of  the  institution.  Whatever  time  I  had  to  spare  I  spent  at 
home  with  my  mother  and  sister.  Then  according  to  pre- 
vious arrangements  I  met  Mr.  George  at  Wheeling,  Va., 
where  we  took  an  Ohio  steamer  for  Cincinnati.  On  arrival 
at  the  Queen  City  we  took  boarding  with  the  family  of  Mr. 
Moses  Glasgow,  a  carpenter  and  a  member  of  the  little 
Covenanter  congregation.  We  were  roommates  and  class- 
mates only  for  a  few  months.  His  health  failed  so  that  he 
was  compelled  to  leave  the  seminary  for  the  time;  and  thus 
I  was  left  without  a  roommate. 

As  there  was  no  seminary  building,  students  met  for 
lectures  and  recitations  in  a  hall  rented  by  the  little  congre- 
gation for  public  worship.  Dr.  Willson  was  the  sole  pro- 
fessor and  teacher  except  that  sometimes  he  employed  a  tutor 
in    Hebrew;    and   as   the   congregation    had    no    pastor   he 

(63) 


64      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSKT  LAND. 

preached    on    Sabbaths.     Subsequently    he    was    appointed 
stated  supply  or  installed  as  pastor. 

Dr.  J.  R.  Willson  was  regarded  throughout  the  church  as 
the  greatest  preacher  in  the  denomination,  a  superior  scholar, 
and  an  excellent  teacher.  As  to  the  last  I  was  not  capable 
of  judging,  but  my  first  impression  was  unfavorable  especially 
as  to  Hebrew.  Most  of  the  freshmen  students  were  ignorant 
of  the  language  For  our  text-book  our  professor  gave  us 
copies  of  his  manuscript  Hebrew  grammar  and  for  the  lirst 
few  months  we  had  no  other.  We  submitted  to  his  mode  of 
teaching  but  we  did  it  under  silent  protest.  And  as  he  was 
greatly  opposed  to  the  Masoretic  points,  we  spent  our  first 
session  in  the  study  of  the  language  without  the  points. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  second  session  we  began  to  use 
Gesennius'  grammar  and  to  learn  the  points.  We  had  to 
unlearn  what  we  had  learned  before,  and  the  whole  system 
of  pronunciation,  as  every  Hebrew  scholar  knows,  had  to 
be  changed.  The  consequence  was  that  I  never  thoroughly 
mastered  the  language,  or  never  was  able  to  read  it  fluently. 

Our  text-boak  in  theology  was  Turritin,  in  I,atin.  Of 
this  our  professor  was  master.  The  L,atin  text  was  easy  and 
pure,  good  Latin  but  not  classical.  To  study  the  great 
French  theologian  was  a  pleasure  and  to  recite  to  such  a 
teacher  was  a  delight.  And  during  all  the  four  years  of  the 
seminary,  no  text-book  in  didactic  theology  was  used  except 
Turritin' s  Latin  volumes.  This  continued  in  the  seminary 
until  during  the  professorship  of  Dr.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane  when  it 
was  exchanged  for  Hodge.  A  while  after  the  change,  in 
private  conversation  with  Dr.  Sloane  I  asked  why  Turritin  was 
dropped.  "Simply  because  so  many  of  the  students  could 
not  read  it,"  was  the  learned  doctor's  reply.  Did  he  do 
injustice  to  the  students? 

As  a  pulpit  orator  Dr.  Willson  had  few  if  any  superiors. 
Large   of  frame,    muscular  but  not   corpulent,  with  large 


A 

4 

■^ 

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J.     R.    WiLLSON,     D.     D. 


THROLOGICAL   STUDIES.  65 

brain,  well-cut  features,  piercing  e3'es,  good  lungs  and 
sonorous  voice,  full  vocabulary  and  freedom  of  utterance,  he 
prepossessed  his  hearers  before  he  had  finished  his  introduc- 
tion. And  then  he  had  .so  much  of  the  majestic  in  his  form 
and  countenance,  such  a  clear  and  full  perception  of  the 
great  fact  and  truths  of  the  atonement,  such  an  appreciation 
of  the  glory  and  the  beauty  of  the  atoning  Mediator,  and 
withal  such  a  towering  imagination  and  so  much  of  unction 
and  pathos  in  his  utterances,  his  .sermons  had  immense 
power  to  persuade.  As  a  logician  he  was  only  ordinary;  of 
Rhetoric  he  was  master.  His  closing  paragraphs  were 
ordinarily  the  most  sublime  or  powerful;  and  to  him  might 
have  been  applied  what  Burke  said  of  another:  "His  enthu- 
siasm kindles  as  he  advances;  and  when  he  arrives  at  his 
peroration,  it  is  in  full  blaze."  As  his  God-given  oratorical 
powers  were  used  with  seeming  unconsciousness  when  in  his 
di.scourses  he  dwelt  upon  the  themes  of  the  cross  or  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  the  hearer,  if  interested  in  tho.se  themes, 
would  become  .so  enthused  as  to  be  oblivious  of  all  else  and 
afterwards  awake  as  from  a  dream.  Such  at  least  was  the 
influence  felt  by  the  writer  when  he  heard  Dr.  Willson  before 
he  passed  out  of  his  prime.  Tho.se  who  did  not  hear  him 
until  in  his  declining  years  may  have  thought  that  his  great- 
ness as  a  preacher  had  been  overestimated.  And  yet  he 
did  not  always  preach  great  discourses.  Occasionally  he 
fell  below  his  ordinary  sermons  Sometimes  his  hearers 
would  be  disappointed.     Great  men  are  not  always  great. 

On  entering  the  seminary,  except  Wm.  F.  George  and 
John  C.  Boyd  with  whom  I  had  some  acquaintance  at 
Miami  University,  all  the  students  were  total  strangers  to 
me.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  been  in  the  seminary  in  Alle- 
gheny some  two  or  three  years  and  so  were  in  advance  of 
me  in  the  .studies.  To  recite  with  them  in  the  same  studies 
and  the  same  lessons  was  quite  an  ordeal.     Freshmen  in  the 

5 


66       LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

same  class  with  seniors  was  unlike  what  had  been  in  college. 
But  as  we  had  only  one  professor  it  seemed  to  be  necessary 
except  in  Hebrew  studies.  After  the  first  year,  however,  I 
was  put  into  the  same  class  with  the  advanced  students. 

Early  in  the  session  a  students'  debating  club  was 
organized  in  w^hich  theology  and  allied  subjects  were  dis- 
cussed. In  that  arena  swords  were  often  measured,  and 
occasionall}^  a  Damascus  blade  was  broken.  Here  as  well  as 
in  the  regular  recitations  and  in  the  weekly  prayer-meetings 
acquaintances  were  formed  and  in  some  cases  warm  attach- 
ments, even  brotherly  loves  that  became  golden  cords  never 
to  be  broken. 

At  the  close  of  my  first  year's  study  I  returned  to  the  old 
homestead  and  spent  three  months  in  teaching  public  school 
in  my  old  native  district.  I  boarded  with  the  family  of  my 
brother  Samuel  P.  wh)  now  occupied  the  old  brick  house. 
Several  of  m}'  cousins,  adults,  and  from  the  families  of  three 
uncles,  two  from  a  distance,  attended  the  school  that  summer. 
They  helped  to  make  it  exceedingly  pleasant.  Cousin 
Margaret  I,.  Johnston,  of  Amsterdam,  Ohio,  was  the  star  of 
the  group  of  cousins.  They  all  studied  some  of  the  higher 
branches. 

As  much  of  my  time  as  I  could  spare  I  spent  at  interses- 
sional  reading  and  study.  Rev.  James  Love  was  the  pastor 
of  the  congregation  and  preached  in  that  branch  of  his  charge 
every  alternate  Sabbath.  My  love  to  him  as  a  good  man 
and  most  faithful  servant  of  Christ  grew  with  the  passing 
months,  and  to  this  da}'  I  think  of  him  as  one  of  the  best 
men  I  ever  knew.  He  served  his  generation  beloved  by  all 
and  is  now  among  the  celestials.  He  was  m}'  third  and  last 
pastor,  and  as  a  pastor  the  most  beloved. 

With  the  return  of  autumn  I  returned  to  the  seminarj'  to 
pursue  the  studies  of  my  second  year.  I  boarded  with  the 
students'  well-known  friend,  Mrs.  Murphy,  and  was  favored 


THEOLOGICAL  STUDIES.  67 

in  having  A.  M.  Milligan  as  my  roommate.  It  was  his 
fourth  year  in  the  seminary  and  he  was  expecting  licensure 
in  the  spring.  I  was  his  senior  by  a  year  or  so  but  his 
advantages  in  early  life  had  been  far  superior;  and  as  his 
father  had  taught  him  Hebrew  from  boyhood  he  was 
qualified  to  be  my  teacher  in  that  study,  and  from  him  I 
received  much  help.  During  the  previous  winter  session  we 
had  become  quite  well  acquainted  but  not  intimately.  I 
can  not  now  recall  what  led  to  our  being  roommates  at  the 
same  boarding-house,  but  I  know  that  it  was  so  ordered, 
and  I  can  understand  it  now  better  than  I  did  then.  I  hope 
the  benefit  was  mutual.  I  am  sure  I  needed  his  help,  and  I 
knew  that  he  was  not  all  that  he  should  have  been  and 
might  have  been  under  the  tutelage  of  his  parents.  But 
during  the  six  months  we  were  together  our  acquaintance 
grew  into  friendship,  then  warm  attachment,  then  love  like 
that  of  David  and  Jonathan.  We  were  not  blind  to  each 
others'  faults,  but  we  knew  that  we  loved  one  another  and 
had  confidence  in  each  other  as  brothers  in  Christ,  as  we 
hoped.  My  estimate  of  Dr.  Milligan,  as  written  after  his 
death,  is  found  in  the  minutes  of  the  R.  P.  Synod  of  that 
year  (1885)  and  in  the  memorial  volume  published  after  his 
death. 

As  I  now  remember  him  when  a  student  he  was  large, 
muscular,  healthy,  athletic,  ofruddy  and  cheerful  countenance, 
and  black  and  piercing  eye.  He  was  a  pleasant  and  cheerful 
companion,  a  lover  of  mirth  and  frolic,  of  strong  will,  and 
born  to  be  a  leader  rather  than  a  follower,  a  master  and  not 
a  servant.  If  I  had  not  been,  in  comparison  with  him, 
small  and  of  delicate  structure,  and  if  I  had  been  as  fond  of 
athletics  as  he,  we  might  have  had  many  a  scuffle  and 
contest  for  the  mastery;  but  he  was  too  manly  to  tackle  one 
so  below  his  match,  though  sometimes  in  his  glee  he  would 
pick  me  up  in  his  arms  and  carry  me  around  the  room  as  if 


68  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

to  show  his  strength.  But  sometimes  we  were  like  boys 
together,  and  I  remember  my  boyish  vanity  when  in  our 
early  morning  walks  for  health  I  was  not  afraid  of  being  left 
behind.  We  studied  until  late  at  night,  and  then  at  the 
clatter  of  our  alarm  clock  we  rose  at  five  in  the  morning, 
resumed  our  studies  until  daylight  and  then  went  out  to 
take  our  morning  walk  of  nearly  a  mile  and  back.  We 
walked  as  fast  as  we  could,  and  if  either  excelled  it  was  not 
the  athlete  whose  legs  had  to  carry  the  most  muscle.  We 
were  now  ready  for  family  prayers  and  breakfast  and  more 
study.  As  to  health,  during  all  the  time  in  which  we  were 
companions  I  think  I  never  knew  Mr.  Milligan  to  be  even 
slightly  unwell.      He  enjoyed  perfect  health. 

Many  who  read  these  lines  may  know  that  in  subsequent 
years  Dr.  Milligan  was  generally  regarded  as  a  great  pulpit 
orator,  and  in  some  respects  he  was.  In  extemporary- 
speaking  or  unstudied  or  unwritten  discourses  he  excelled 
probably  all  his  co-temporaries  He  was  a  born  orator. 
He  had  a  rich  vocabulary  at  his  command.  Sometimes  and 
on  some  themes  there  was  in  his  mode  of  thought,  his  utter- 
ances, and  his  manner  of  delivery  something  that  fascinated 
or  enthused  his  hearers.  For  this  and  other  reasons  the 
people  of  his  own  charge,  especially  in  Pittsburgh  where  he 
ministered  so  long,  would  not  have  exchanged  their  pastor 
for  any  other.  And  yet  a  student  of  theology  of  189^  must 
not  suppose  that  his  eloquence  was  all  bestowed  without 
study  or  effort.  As  a  student  he  was  ambitious  to  excel  as 
a  speaker.  Sometimes  this  was  too  apparent  in  his  student's 
discourses  in  the  seminary.  But  perhaps  without  this  effort 
and  this  ambition  he  never  could  have  been  the  great 
preacher  and  the  useful  pastor  he  was.  God-given  talents 
must  not  be  hid  in|a  napkin. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  close  of  the  seminary  Mr.  Milligan 
departed  for  his  home  to  prepare  for  licensure  by  his  Presby- 


THEOLOGICAL  STUDIlCS.  69 

ter5^  It  was  his  first  license,  for  in  those  days  theological 
students  were  not  licensed  to  preach  until  after  they  had 
been  in  the  seminary  four  years.  As  students  we  parted  in 
sadness  to  meet  no  more  in  that  relation  ;  but  on  these  pages 
we  will  hear  of  him  again. 

During  the  session  of  the  seminary  now  closed  I  formed 
intimate  acquaintance  with  several  fellow-students  whose 
brotherly  friendship  I  have  greatly  prized  all  my  life. 
Special  mention  must  be  made  of  two  of  them,  Charles  L,. 
Williams  of  New  York  and  R.  J.  Dodds  of  Western  Penn- 
sylvania. Student  Williams  was  a  colored  young  man,  and 
a  son  of  a  Mr.  Williams  of  Coldenham,  N.  Y.,  who  in  his  early 
life  was  a  slave  in  that  state  before  the  act  of  emancipation. 
There  were  quite  a  number  of  sons  two  of  whom  are  still  liv- 
ing in  the  city  of  New  York.  These  are  intelligent  and 
earnest  Covenanters.  Charles  had  received  part  of  his 
academic  education  under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Willson  in 
Allegheny,  Pa.,  of  whom  he  was  a  great  favorite.  He  was  tall 
and  straight  and  handsome,  tolerably  dark  in  complexion, 
gentlemanly  in  his  bearing  and  very  companionable.  After 
a  few  months'  acquaintance  I  became  much  attached  to  him 
and  always  liked  to  be  with  him.  In  those  days,  "  the  dark 
days  of  slavery,"  it  required  some  courage  and  disregard  of 
reproach  to  receive  a  negro  on  equality.  In  Cincinnati,  just 
across  the  river  from  Kentucky,  there  was  much  of  the  pro- 
slavery  spirit  and  prejudice  against  colored  people.  When 
walking  on  the  streets  with  Mr.  Williams,  going  to  and 
from  the  seminary,  sometimes  arm  in  arm  with  him,  for  I 
loved  him,  I  was  often  insulted  by  men  or  boys  who  would 
laugh  aloud,  or  cry  out  "Nigger  lover!"  or  "Chalk  in  de 
eye."  I  u.sually  passed  along  as  though  I  did  not  hear 
their  harmless  insults,  but  I  always  felt  sorry  for  Mr. 
Williams.  He  was  a  man  of  a  sensitive  nature,  though  he 
seemed  to  be  oblivious  to  the  wrongs  done  to  him  ;  but  he 


70  I^OOKING   BACK   I^ROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

knew  that  he  was  an  object  of  that  cruel  hate  peculiar  to 
those  who  had  the  caste  feeling,  a  prejudice  against  color 
that  was  born  of  slaver3^  Even  some  of  the  students  of 
theology  did  not  care  to  be  seen  walking  with  the  colored 
student ;  and  yet  he  was  not  only  very  gentlemanly  in  his 
demeanor  but  what  people  call  a  fine-looking  young  man. 
Prejudice  against  color  !  To  the  writer  it  always  seemed 
not  only  ciuel  and  mean  but  also  unaccountable.  And  here 
I  leave  my  record  that,  as  far  as  I  can  remember,  from  mj' 
early  life  and  on  through  all  these  j-ears  I  was  a  stranger  to 
the  feeling.  To  God  be  all  the  praise,  for  he  gave  me  anti- 
slavery  parents  and  these  gave  me  anti-slav^ery  books  to 
read;  and  I  so  early  was  trained  in  an  anti- slavery  school  that 
I  can  not  remember  when  I  became  an  Abolitionist. 

During  this  the  first  and  only  session  of  Mr.  Williams, 
theological  studies,  a  sad  accident  occurred  that  so  affected  his 
subsequent  life  I  record  it  here. 

One  evening  on  his  way  home  quite  late  from  prayer- 
meeting  or  lecture,  as  he  was  passing  down  street  he  came 
up  to  some  men  who  were  leading  or  forcing  a  negro  down 
street  towards  the  Ohio  river  and,  as  Mr.  Williams  believed, 
to  take  him  over  to  Kentucky;  but  whether  he  was  a  fugitive 
slave  or  a  kidnapped  man,  Mr.  Williams  did  not  know. 
Under  the  impression  that  they  were  kidnappers,  and  being 
much  excited,  he  went  up  to  the  men  and  asked  them  who 
that  man  was  and  by  what  right  they  were  forcing  him 
away.  Seeing  that  he  was  a  colored  man,  they  answered 
him  roughl}^  and  ordered  him  to  go  away.  Under  still 
greater  excitement  he  repeated  his  question  and  demanded 
that  their  victim  should  be  released.  Again  and  with  an 
oath  he  was  ordered  away  and  told  to  "go  and  mind  his 
own  business."  Seeing  that  he  could  effect  nothing,  and 
resolving  to  hasten  to  find  a  policeman,  he  hurried  to  turn 
off  the  street  at  the  first  corner  towards  his  boarding-house. 


Theological  vSTudies.  71 

He  had  not  passed  more  than  a  rod  or  two  when  a  man  from 
behind,  following  him  stealthily,  struck  him  on  the  back  of 
the  head  with  a  brick,  and  hastily  ran  back.  Mr.  Williams 
was  felled  to  the  sidewalk  and  lay  semi-unconscious  until 
some  colored  men  from  a  barber  shop  near  by  carried  him  to 
his  boarding-house  and  sent  for  a  surgeon.  On  examination 
it  was  found  that  the  skull  was  fractured.  He  lay  in  a 
very  critical  condition  for  a  week  or  two  and  then  began  to 
convalesce.  Several  weeks  passed  before  he  was  able  to  rise 
from  his  bed  and  walk  out.  As  it  was  now  late  in  the 
session,  he  did  not  return  to  his  studies.  After  a  while  he 
had  slight  attacks  of  epilepsy  and  his  health  became  im- 
paired. His  physician  advised  him  to  avoid  close  study. 
Following  the  advice  in  the  hope  of  returning  health,  and 
being  poor,  he  taught  school  for  a  while;  but  he  never  re- 
gained health.  Subsequently  he  returned  to  New  York, 
where  he  was  a  member  of  the  second  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church.  He  became  a  victim  of  consumption  and  finally  died 
as  he  had  lived,  a  devoted  Christian  and  a  genuine  Covenanter, 
Charles  L.  Williams  was  the  first  colored  student  in  our 
theological  seminary,  and  manj^  years  passed  before  there 
was  another.  His  removal  from  the  seminary,  his  sub- 
sequent afflictions,  and  his  death  made  a  dark  page  in  the 
history  of  the  seminary.  To  some  of  us  it  seemed  that  if 
he  had  been  spared  to  finish  his  studies  and  to  be  licensed  to 
preach  he  might  have  been  of  great  use  in  some  gospel  or 
anti-slavery  field.  Such  a  man  was  greatly  needed.  The 
millions  in  bonds  needed  both  freedom  and  the  gospel.  It 
seemed  then  as  though  any  two  of  us  students  could  have 
been  spared  rather  than  the  genial  colored  man  who 
wished  to  devote  his  life  to  the  work  of  Him  who  came  to 
proclaim  liberty  to  the  captive.  But  He  whose  time  to  break 
the  yoke  of  bondage  had  not  yet  come  saw  fit  to  remove  our 
beloved  friend  to  the  land  of  health,  and  it  was  ours  to  learn 
submission  to  the  will  of  the  Master. 


chaptp:r  VII. 

Summer   Vacation, 

Needing  funds  with  which  to  continue  at  seminary 
studies  the  next  year,  and  following  providential  indications, 
I  determined  to  remain  in  or  near  Cincinnati  and  spend  the 
summer  in  teaching.  Through  the  kindness  of  a  friend  I 
was  introduced  to  the  secretary  of  the  directors  of  a  vacant 
school  near  Carthage,  a  town  about  seven  miles  north  of  the 
city.  To  this  man  belonged  the  duty  of  employing  a  teacher. 
Prior  to  my  meeting  him  my  friend  had  recommended  me 
and  had  told  him  of  my  qualifications  At  my  first  inter- 
view with  him  he  said  he  was  ready  to  make  a  contract  with 
me  to  teach  the  school  the  next  term.  I  asked  him  how  he 
knew  I  was  qualified  or  was  a  suitable  person.  He  promptly 
answered:  "Just  as  Napoleon  knew  how  to  choose  his 
officers,  by  the  shape  and  length  of  the  noses.  Yours  is  a 
sufficient  recommendation."  I  accepted  the  compliment  and 
the  agreement  was  closed  in  writing. 

I  received  my  teacher's  certificate  from  Professor  Ray  of 
Woodward  college,  the  author  of  the  popular  mathematical 
text-books.  Professor  Ray  was  a  graduate  of  my  Alma 
Mater  and  when  in  college  was  a  student  under  the  dis- 
tinguished Covenanter  Professor  of  Mathematics,  John 
Armstrong.  Subsequently  I  had  a  better  acquaintance  with 
him  and  was  indebted  to  him  for  several  kindnesses  in  the 
department  of  mathematics.  He  was  a  man  of  culture  and 
of  piety  and  a  member  of  the  Presbj-terian  Church. 

During  that  summer  vacation  I  taught  two  terms  of  public 

(72) 


SUMMER   VACATION.  73 

school  in  the  same  district,  boarding  part  of  the  time  in  the 
country  and  part  in  the  town  of  Carthage  and  in.  each  place 
with  a  Christian  ("Campbellite")  famil}'.  But  I  lodged 
with  them  during  only  the  secular  days  of  the  week.  On 
Saturdays  I  walked  into  the  city,  lodged  at  my  former  board- 
ing-house, Mrs.  Murphy's,  attended  the  Covenanter  Church, 
and  then  walked  back  to  my  school  early  Monday  morning. 

During  this  summer  two  fellow  theological  students,  Levi 
Purvis  and  R.  J.  Dodds,  were  teaching  in  country  schools 
not  far  distant.  And  during  those  summer  months  Mr. 
Dodds  and  I  were  often  and  much  together.  In  the  evenings 
or  on  Saturdays  he  came  over  to  my  boarding-house  and  we 
rambled  together  or  read  and  talked  together,  and  often 
walked  into  the  city  together.  Our  former  acquaintance 
grew  into  intimacy  and  warm  friendship.  Many  a  sweet 
hour  did  w^e  spend  together;  man}-  subjects  of  greater  or  less 
importance  were  discussed,  and  though  we  did  not  know  or 
think  of  it  then,  we  were  laying  the  foundation  of  a  mutual 
love  that  ever  continued  to  grow  and  that  is  as  deathless  as 
the  soul. 

Sometime  during  this  summer  and  at  a  great  outdoor 
public  meeting  at  Carthage  I  heard  Ohio's  great  orator. 
Gov.  Thomas  Corwin,  when  he  was  discus.sing  the  national 
questions  which  afterwards  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
Republican  party.  In  the  audience  and  a  very  attentive 
hearer  was  a  greater  man,  viz.,  Salmon  P.  Chase.  He  was 
at  that  time  a  prominent  member  of  the  Cincinnati  bar  and 
had  won  the  favor  of  anti-slavery  men  by  his  successful 
advocacy  of  the  cause  of  a  negro  whose  freedom  was  at  stake. 
At  this  time  he  was  active  in  the  interests  of  the  liberty 
party.  He  and  Mr.  Corwin  were  acquainted  and  the  speaker 
watched  Mr.  Chase  closely,  knowing  that  the  latter  was  in 
advance  of  him  on  questions  involved  in  the  discussion.  I 
was   standing  near  to  Mr.   Cha.se   and    often    noticed   how 


74  tOOlCING    BACK    FROM    THK    SUNSET^    lAnD. 

attentive  he  was  and  how  his  emotions  were  stirred  at  timeSj 
and  I  imagined  that  he  would  have  been  greatly  pleased  to 
have  had  an  opportunity  to  speak. 

This  was  the  first  time  I  had  had  a  good  opportunity  to 
see  Mr.  Chase;  though  I  did  not  know  his  future  I  studied 
his  character  as  well  as  I  could  then.  He  was  large  of 
frame  and  mu.scular  but  not  corpulent.  He  had  a  large 
head,  blue  eyes,  fine  features,  open  and  pleasant  counte- 
nance, and  every  index  of  a  great  man.  In  sulxsequent  years 
his  state  and  the  nation  both  showed  their  appreciation  of 
the  excellency  of  his  character. 

During  this  summer  I  had  time  for  much  profitable  read- 
ing and  made  some  progress  in  intersessional  studies.  After 
the  close  of  the  second  term  of  school  I  attended  the  fall 
meeting  of  Lakes  Presbytery  under  whose  care  I  had  been 
taken  at  the  first.  This  meeting  was  held  at  Garrison,  Ind., 
church.  Rev.  Josiali  Dodds  pastor.  According  to  appoint- 
ment I  was  expected  to  attend  and  preach  a  sermon  as  a 
"specimen  of  improvement "  in  theological  studies.  The 
distance  from  Cincinnati  was  a  long  day's  journey  by  car- 
riage. There  were  no  railroads  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
My  going  was  on  this  wise.  As  Rev.  William  Willson, 
pastor  of  the  ' '  Newlight ' '  Covenanter  congregation  in 
Cincinnati,  and  his  elder  also  were  going  to  a  meeting  of 
their  presbytery  in  the  same  place  and  about  the  same  time 
(a  strange  coincidence)  my  professor  and  I  arranged  to  join 
with  them  in  hiring  a  two-horse  carriage  for  the  journey. 
Being  a  farmer's  son  I  had  the  honor  of  being  the  driver  for 
the  party.  Being  only  a  student  and  the  driver,  it  was  but 
fit  that  in  the  conversation  by  the  wa}',  whatever  the  subject, 
I  should  be  a  silent  listener.  Both  ministers  and  elder 
proved  to  be  very  pleasant  and  profitable  companions,  and  I 
enjoyed  the  journey  greatly.  At  that  meeting  our  traveling 
companion,    Rev.  William   Willson,   applied   to   the   "Old 


Summer  vacation.  75 

Light"  presbytery  to  be  received  as  a  member.  His 
exatiiination  was  not  satisfactory.  He  was  adjudged  to  be  not 
sound  in  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  church  as  to  Civil 
Government  and  the  duty  of  dissent  therefrom  when  not  prop- 
erly constituted;  and  so  he  was  not  received.  In  this  result  my 
old  professor  was  evidently  disappointed,  for  he  had  used  his 
influence  to  bring  over  the  ' '  New  Ivight ' '  pastor  to  our  side 
of  the  church,  and  I  thought  then  that  the  younger  had  not 
told  the  older  the  exact  state  of  his  mind  as  to  the  points  of 
difference.  Whether  the  N.  S.  pastor  hoped  to  take  his 
people  with  him  into  our  church  I  do  not  know,  but  though 
the  pastors  long  since  passed  away  from  their  earthly  lal)ors 
both  Covenanter  congregations  continue  separate  until  this 
day. 

The  morning  after  the  adjournment  of  presbyter}'  our 
quartet  of  co-travelers  started  home  by  a  road  that  led 
through  Connersville,  the  county  seat  of  Fa3'ette  County,  Ind. , 
where  resided  my  friends,  Mr.  David  Patterson  and  family, 
who  had  formerly  lived  in  Bellefontaine,  Ohio.  I  had  not 
seen  them  for  more  than  seven  years;  and  as  one  member  of 
the  family  had  been  speciall}'  dear  to  me,  I  could  not  pass 
through  that  town  without  stopping.  Having  arrived  in 
the  town  I  gave  the  reins  to  the  elder  in  the  carriage,  and 
informing  the  trio  of  presbyters  that  I  would  stop  over 
until  the  next  day,  I  bade  them  good-by  and  hunted  up  my 
old  friends.  Among  the  first  to"»meet  and  welcome  me  was 
Eliza  to  whom,  though  not  named,  allusion  was  made  on  a 
previous  page.  And  I  now  owe  it  to  her  memory  and  to 
her  surviving  friends  and  to  my  own,  to  stop  here  a  moment 
to  say  that  Eliza  was  the  third  daughter  of  Elder  Patterson, 
the  two  older  being  married  and  gone.  I  had  met  her  and 
formed  acquaintance  when  the  family  resided  at  Bellefontaine 
and  when  she  was  only  a  girl  of  "sweet  sixteen."  This 
acquaintance  was  renewed  during  the  year  before  I  entered 


76  LOOKING    BACK    PROM    THE   SUNSET   LANU. 

college  and  grew  into  friendship  and  finally  into  affection 
that  proved  to  be  imperishable.  During  the  spring  of  1841 
in  the  vacation  of  my  freshman  year,  I  spent  with  her  what 
leisure  time  I  had,  but  being  far  away  never  had  an  opportu- 
nity to  see  her  again  until  after  more  than  seven  j^ears  and  at 
the  time  and  place  above  mentioned.  During  these  years 
she  had  a  severe  and  long-continued  attack  of  bilious  fever 
followed  by  the  fever  and  ague  so  common  then,  and  during 
which  she  was  subjected  to  the  practise  of  the  vicious  system 
of  drug  medication  by  an  old  school  physician,  the  "family 
physician,"  presumed  to  know  all  science  and  to  be  too 
honest  to  deceive  his  patients  The  result  was  permanently 
impaired  health.  When  I  met  her  at  Connersville,  how- 
ever, her  health  was  sufficiently  restored  to  permit  her  to  be 
a  teacher  in  the  public  school.  After  tarrying  until  next 
day,  and  having  learned  that  during  all  the  years  of  separa- 
tion our  mutual  friendship  had  remained  unchanged,  I  bade 
her  good-by  and  took  the  stage  and  returned  to  Cincinnati  to 
resume  studies  in  the  seminary. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

The;  Third  Year  and  Fellow-Student.s. 

The  third  session  and  my  last  in  Cincinnati  was  one  of  hard 
study.  My  domestic  arrangements  were  changed.  I  united 
with  students  French  and  Armour  in  hiring  lodging-rooms 
in  the  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Chas.  Williams  now  trying  to 
teach.  He  needed  help  and  we  helped  him  a  little  by  rent- 
ing two  rooms  which  we  furnished.  We  took  our  meals  at 
my  old  boarding-house,  Mrs.  Murphy's,  about  a  mile  distant. 
Thus  when  we  ate  our  three  meals  every  day,  we  walked 
about  six  miles  every  day,  and  this  besides  our  walk  to  and 
from  our  recitations  and  lectures.  We  had  no  need  of  a 
gymnasium;  and  for  football  or  baseball  games  there  was 
neither  time  nor  need.  Books,  lectures,  lessons,  sermons, 
religious  duties,  sleep,  and  those  walks,  all  left  no  time  for 
play  nor  for  even  reading  the  daily  papers.  These  even  in  the 
"Queen  City"  were  not  as  bad  as  the  ordinary  daily  papers 
of  this  day;  the  "Sunday  paper"  as  yet  was  not  known. 
And  yet  our  professor  saw  fit  to  apologize  for  the  reading  of 
them.  One  cold  winter  morning  when  to  be  kind  to  him 
while  in  feeble  health  the  students  went  to  his  residence  to 
recite  some  of  our  lessons,  two  or  three  of  us  were  a  few 
minutes  too  early.  On  entering  the  room  we  found  him 
sitting  at  his  open  grate  reading  the  morning  news.  Lay- 
ing the  paper  down  and  turning  to  receive  us  he  said:  "Good- 
morning,  gentlemen.  You  have  caught  me  reading  the 
morning  paper  again.     Well,  I  have  to  read  the  papers  to 

(77) 


78       LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

know  what  the  devil  is  doing  so  that  I  niaj'  know  how  to 
pray." 

This  anecdote  illustrates  the  character  of  this  great  and 
good  man.  And  with  all  his  excellencies  he  had  his  infirm- 
ities which  we  tried  not  to  notice  but  to  forget.  On  some 
questions  of  public  importance  he  was  very  conservative  or 
non-progressive;  but  this  was  overbalanced  by  his  radical 
and  advanced  views  on  others  of  greater  importance.  Mem- 
ory recalls  an  illustration.  In  common  with  many  good 
men  of  that  time  he  was  very  much  opposed  to  women 
lecturing  or  speaking  on  the  public  platform.  But  he  was 
such  a  friend  of  the  slave  and  so  hated  all  that  kept  him  in 
bonds  that  when  Stephen  S.  Foster  of  Massachusetts,  and 
Abby  Kelley,  of  national  reputation,  afterwards  Mrs.  Foster, 
came  to  Cincinnati  to  hold  Garrisonian  anti-slavery  meet- 
ings, Dr.  Willson  forgot  his  prejudices  against  women  speak- 
ing in  public.  For  nearly  a  week  thej^  held  nightly  meet- 
ings in  one  of  the  largest  audience  rooms  in  the  city,  the 
"Millerite  Tabernacle."  Mr.  Foster  was  one  of  the  most 
radical  and  earnest  and  fiery  of  the  early  anti-slavery 
prophets.  They  called  him  "The  Hornet."  Abby  Kelley 
was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  eloquent  of  the  Abolitionists. 
Pure  in  her  style,  rhetorical,  and  sometimes  pathetic,  she 
was  a  powerful  advocate  of  freedom.  I^ike  Mr.  Foster,  she 
was  irresistible  in  her  logic,  proving  the  pro-slavery  charac- 
ter of  the  United  States  constitution  and  the  guilt  of  all  who 
voted  or  held  office  under  it.  The  argument  and  the  con- 
clusion to  which  she  endeavored  to  bring  her  hearers  were 
the  same  as  were  commonly  used  by  the  Old  School  Covenant- 
ers. Great  audiences  attended  the  lectures.  Dr.  Willson 
and  his  family,  and  generally  the  students  also,  attended. 
One  evening  while  Abby  Kelley  was  speaking  or  as  soon 
as  she  was  done,  a  man  in  the  audience  and  a  well-known 
citizen  was  so  influenced  with  the  sentiments  of  the  lecturer 


THK   THIRD   YEAR   AND   FELLOW-STUDENTS.  79 

that  he  rose  to  his  feet,  held  high  up  a  large  copy  of  the  consti- 
tution and  said:  "I  reject  it,  I  despise  it,  I  spit  upon  it,  I 
trample  upon  it,"  and  with  the  last  words  he  threw  it  down 
upon  the  floor  and  trampled  upon  it.  His  rash  action 
created  manifest  excitement  in  the  audience,  but  no  dis- 
turbance followed. 

Sometime  during  these  meetings  Dr.  Willson  invited  the 
lecturers  to  dine  or  take  tea  with  his  family,  probably  at  two 
different  times;  and  we  all  knew  that  he  was  greatly 
delighted  with  the  work  done  by  these  Garrisonian  speakers. 
And  so,  one  morning  when  three  or  four  of  the  students 
went  to  the  class-room  a  little  early,  and  after  he  had  spoken 
warmly  in  approbation  of  the  truths  uttered  the  night  before, 
with  much  hesitancy  if  not  in  fear  I  said  to  him:  "But, 
Doctor,  I  thought  you  were  opposed  to  women  speaking  on 
the  public  platform.  How  does  it  come  that  you  are  carried 
away  by  Abby  Kelley's  speeches?"  Rising  from  his 
chair  and  looking  at  me  in  silence  for  a  few  moments  he 
replied  slowly  but  forcibly:  "Gentlemen,  when  men  can 
speak  but  will  not  speak  for  the  slave,  then  I  say,  let  woman 
speak,  and  God  bless  her!  ' '  The  last  part  of  the  sentence  was 
spoken  with  emphasis  and  with  manifest  deep  emotion. 

During  this  my  third  session  of  the  seminary  student 
R.  J.  Dodds  boarded  not  far  from  our  lodging-place.  He 
was  an  occasional  if  not  a  frequent  visitor  to  our  rooms;  and 
he  was  always  welcome  not  only  because  we  all  loved  him 
but  because  he  was  exceedingly  cheerful  and  companionable. 
He  had  rare  conversational  powers  and  abounded  in  mirth 
and  repartee.  Whether  he  had  more  brain  power  than  the 
rest  of  us,  or  because  he  had  been  at  theological  studies 
longer,  I  do  not  know,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  need  as  much 
hard  study  as  some  of  us,  and  as  he  roomed  alone  and 
yet  loved  company  he  was  often  in  our  room.  And  though 
at  that  time  I  did  not  see  the  evil  of  the  tobacco  habit  nor 


8o  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

the  sinfulness  of  the  vice  as  I  did  afterwards,  yet  even  then 
his  temptations  would  have  annoyed  me  if  he  had  not  been 
so  pleasant  and  mirthful  when  offering  them.  He  generally 
used  a  cob  pipe  of  his  own  make.  Sometimes  he  would 
bring  in  two  newly-made  pipes  and  filling  them  with  prepared 
tobacco  he  would  j'cosely  say  tome:  "Come  now,  Johnston, 
let  us  have  a  nice  smoke."  and  with  the  words  offer  me 
one  of  the  pipes.  Probably  he  expected  me  to  decline  the 
offer,  as  I  always  did;  but  as  Mr.  French  did  not  object  to 
the  use  of  the  weed  the  extra  pipe  was  generally  passed  over 
to  him.  I  had  this  consolation,  however,  that  Mr.  Armour 
also  was  an  abstainer  and  cuuld  not  be  induced  to  follow  the 
example  of  even  such  beloved  chums.  The  abstainers  still 
survive;  and  I  think  that  if  those  who  continued  to  use  the 
poisonous  narcotic  were  here  now  to  speak  to  the  living, 
especially  to  the  young,  they  would  affectionately  persuade 
and  warn  and  testify'  saying,  ''Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle 
not." 

John  M.  Armour  was  a  student  from  Illinois  Presbytery 
and  a  graduate  of  Geneva  College.  Prior  to  his  entering  the 
theological  seminary  we  had  no  acquaintance,  but  we  soon 
found  him  to  be  all  that  we  could  desire  as  a  fellow-student 
and  room-mate.  He  was  not  onl}'  intellectual  and  fond  of 
study  and  a  ckse  thinker,  but  he  was  modest  and  amiable 
and  companionable  and  withal  a  model  of  purit}^  and  integ- 
rity. It  was  not  long  until  he  found  a  warm  place  in  my 
affections. 

About  the  close  of  the  session  I  was  taken  down  with  an 
attack  of  fever  which  prevented  me  from  being  present  at 
the  closing  exercises  and  from  giving  with  the  others  my 
prepared  discourse.  Before  I  had  recovered  most  of  the 
students  had  departed  to  their  homes.  After  the  close  of 
the  session  and  being  left  alone,  Mrs.  Murphy,  always  the 
students'  friend,  invited  me  to  make  my  home  for  the  time 


THB   THIRD    YEAR    AND    FELLOWSTUDENTS.  8 1 

at  her  house.  I  did  so  and  received  medical  advice  from 
her  son,  Dr.  John  Murphy,  afterwards  professor  in  the  Ohio 
Medicil  College.  As  ray  health  continued  feeble,  and  as 
my  funds  were  exhausted,  I  was  ready  to  follow  the  advice 
of  Dr.  Murphy  which  was  that  I  should  not  think  of  teach- 
ing during  the  vacation  but  get  a  horse  and  saddle  and 
spend  some  months  in  travel.  To  make  this  practicable  he 
introduced  me  to  John  D.  Thorpe,  a  book-seller  in  the 
city  in  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  Book  Rooms,  and  the 
publisher  of  the  Presbyterian  of  the  West,  a  religious  weekly 
journal.  Mr.  Thorpe  offered  to  give  me  the  agency  of  the 
paper  in  a  part  of  the  state  and  a  fair  percentage  upon  col- 
lections and  new  subscribers.  My  brother  J.  B.,  of  North- 
wood,  kindly  offered  me  the  use  of  his  horse  and  saddle  for 
the  purpose  of  my  proposed  canvass.  After  visiting  my 
brothers  in  I^ogan  County,  and  getting  ready  for  my  new 
business,  I  mounted  the  saddle  and  started  out  into  the  field 
as  a  collector  and  canvasser.  Following  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Thorpe,  my  work  took  me  among  Presbyterians  in  the 
congregations  of  central  Ohio.  My  traveling  expenses  were 
not  light,  and  as  the  families  that  I  had  to  see  were  gen- 
erally in  the  country  and  often  far  apart,  I  spent  about  three 
months  in  the  canvass  with  almost  no  pecuniary  profit 
though  my  health  steadily  improved.  I  did  not  tire  of  the 
saddle  but  rather  enjoyed  it.  My  associations  were  almost 
wholly  with  Presbyterians,  and  I  often  lodged  with  hospita- 
ble families  some  of  whom  were  intelligent  and  genuine 
Christians  whose  society  I  greatly  enjoyed.  Most  of  my 
Sabbaths  were  spent  at  Presbyterian  Churches  and  I  heard 
many  a  good  sermon  by  Old  School  Presbyterian  pastors, 
and  occasionally  I  had  good  opportunities  to  advocate  Cov- 
enanter truths  and  to  make  pleas  for  the  slave.  Though  the 
kind  of  life  I  lived  during  those  months  of  canvassing  was 
not  of  choice  yet  on  the  whole  I  did  not  regret  that  they 
6 


82       LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

were  thus  spent.  I  learned  much  of  the  character  of  Chris- 
tian professors  and  not  a  little  of  the  condition  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  By  the  blessing  of  God  upon  horseback 
riding  as  the  means  in  part,  my  health  was  restored  and  I 
was  better  prepared  for  the  work  that  the  Master  was  about 
to  give  me  to  do. 

Before  the  close  of  ray  canvass  I  spent  three  consecutive 
Sabbaths  in  Covenanter  congregations,  viz.,  Sandusky, 
Rev.  J.  C.  Boyd,  pastor;  Utica,  Rev.  A.  McFarland,  pastor, 
and  New  Concord,  vacant.  When  traveling  in  this  vicinity 
my  beautiful  bay  mare  that  had  carried  me  so  faithfully  and 
so  long,  stumbled  and  almost  fell.  This  was  followed  by 
lameness  that  I  feared  would  be  permanent.  As  soon  as  I 
could  I  took  the  animal  to  a  Covenanter  farmer  and  put  her 
out  to  pasture  and  to  rest. 

At  this  time  my  former  fellow-student  and  good  friend, 
William  F.  George,  was  professor  of  Greek  in  Muskingum 
College  at  New  Concord.  Since  we  had  parted  at  Cincin- 
nati he  had  taken  a  good  wife  and  now  was  happy  in  his 
new  home  as  well  as  honored  in  his  professorship.  While 
I  waited  there  and  enjoyed  their  hospitality,  the  stockhold- 
ers of  the  New  Concord  Free  Press,  an  anti-slavery  paper, 
were  prospecting  for  a  new  editor,  as  Matthew  Hull,  the 
editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Clarion  of  Freedom,  had  sold 
the  paper  to  the  said  stockholders  and  intended  soon  to  de- 
part to  enter  the  lecturing  field.  Some  of  the  new  owners 
of  the  paper  were  Covenanters  and  I  suppose  wished  a 
Covenanter  editor.  Professor  George,  though  not  one  of  the 
stockholders,  was  deeply  interested  in  the  paper.  And  before 
I  departed  he  interviewed  me  to  ascertain  whether  his 
theological  student  friend,  and  now  the  sun-burnt  collector, 
could  be  had  for  editor.  The  thought  of  having  charge  ot 
an  anti-slavery  paper,  however  new  to  me,  was  not  unpleas- 
ant,  but  doubts  about   my    fitness  for  the   work,   and   the 


THE   THIRD    YEAR    AND    FELLOW-STUDENTS.  83 

thought  of  abandoning  theological  studies  even  for  a  time, 
caused  me  to  hesitate  and  to  avoid  definite  reply. 

Obliged  to  give  up  my  agency  and  to  leave  my  lame  horse 
in  pasture,  I  took  stage  and  hurried  home  not  only  to  see 
my  mother  and  other  friends  again,  but  to  have  opportunity 
to  prepare  the  trials  for  licensure  that  had  been  assigned  by 
Presbytery.  They  were  what  at  that  lime  were  called  an 
"Exercise  and  Additions"  and  a  Latin  essay  on  "What  Is 
anti-Christ?  " 

As  all  my  books  had  been  left  behind,  and  that  I  might 
have  access  to  the  library  of  my  old  college  professor,  A.  M. 
Black,  I  went  to  New  Athens  and  spent  about  a  month  in 
study.  To  help  me  financially  as  well  as  by  giving  me  free 
access  to  his  library,  he  gave  to  me  his  class  in  Virgil.  For 
teaching  it  he  paid  to  me  what  met  my  boarding  bill.  This 
was  another  evidence  of  Professor  Black's  kindly  feeling 
towards  me  the  only  Covenan^^er  student  in  any  of  his 
classes  while  I  was  in  college.  That  dear  man  to  whom  I 
owe  so  much  as  a  teacher  holds  a  large  place  in  my  affections. 

During  my  visit  at  home  or  while  at  New  Athens  I 
received  a  letter  from  the  secretary  of  the  stockholders  of  the 
New  Concord  Free  Press  informing  me  that  I  had  been 
elected  the  editor.  What  reply  was  made  I  do  not  remem- 
ber, but  I  know  that  on  my  way  to  Presbytery  at  Utica  I 
stopped  at  New  Concord  and  made  arrangements  to  take 
charge  of  the  paper  after  my  return  from  Presbytery  or  as 
soon  as  Mr.  Hull  would  retire.  What  led  me  to  this  deci- 
sion I  have  forgotten,  but  I  remember  that  I  was  strongly 
persuaded  by  my  anti-slavery  and  Covenanter  friends  at 
New  Concord,  and  I  think  I  had  the  approbation  of  my 
mother  and  brother  and  sister  at  home.  It  could  not  have 
been  money,  for  the  paper  was  not  a  "paying  concern,"  and 
I  had  no  promise  of  any  pay  except  the  income  of  the  paper, 
viz.   the  subscriptions  and  a  few  advertisements.     At  that 


84  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

time  the  anti-slavery  excitement  was  becoming  intense  all 
over  the  country  and  as  strong  in  Ohio  probabl}'  as  in  any 
other  state.  The  Liberty  party  had  become  the  Free  Soil 
party.  Among  the  anti-slavery  people  the  questions  were: 
Shall  new  slave  states  be  admitted  into  the  Union?  and 
may  slavery  be  introduced  into  any  of  the  new  territories 
belonging  to  the  United  States?  In  the  fall  of  1848  General 
Zachary  Taylor,  a  southern  slave-holder,  was  the  presiden- 
tial nominee  of  the  Whig  party,  and  Martin  Van  Buren  was 
nominated  by  the  Free  Soil  party.  At  the  same  time  the 
Garrisonian  Abolitionists  were  intensely  active  by  means  of 
the  press,  public  lectures,  and  conventions,  in  their  advocacy 
of  the  duty  of  immediate  emancipation  and  of  separation 
from  the  pro-slavery  government  under  the  pro  slavery 
Constitution.  The  agitation  was  increasing  rapidly.  The 
only  Garrisonian  organ  published  in  Ohio  was  the  Anh'- 
Siavery  Bugle  printed  at  Salem  and  edited  by  Oliver  John- 
son. The  Clarion  of  Freedom  had  been  edited  in  the 
interest  of  the  Liberty  party.  As  the  paper  had  now  come 
into  the  ownership  of  Covenanters  mostly,  they  intended  it 
to  be  free  from  party  politics  and  to  be  the  advocate  of  anti- 
slavery  truth  as  held  by  Covenanters  in  common  with 
Garrisonian  Abolitionists.  To  have  such  an  opportunity  to 
plead  for  the  slave  and  at  the  same  time  advocate  the  duty 
of  dissent  from  the  pro-slavery  government,  was  a  strong 
incentive  to  suspend  my  theological  studies  at  least  for  a 
time.  And  so  after  weighing  the  matter  well  and  a  good 
while,  and  having  asked  for  divine  direction,  I  accepted  the 
position  offered  and  promised  to  take  charge  of  the  paper 
after  my  return  from  Presbytery. 

I  can  not  remember  now  what  was  the  subject  of  my 
"Exercise  and  Additions"  nor  how  it  was  received,  but  I 
do  not  forget  Rev.  A.  McFarland's  criticism  upon  the  Latin 
dissertation.     He  was  the  chairman  of  the  committee  into 


THE  THIRD  YEAR  AND  FELLOW- STUDENTS.      85 

whose  hands  it  had  been  put  for  examination.  Among 
other  things  he  reported  that  the  essay  was  a  splendid 
piece  of  Latin  composition  and  almost  perfect  in  its  ety- 
mology,  but  in  its  syntactical  structure  or  collocation  it  was 
"miserable."  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Presbytery 
voted  approval  and  acceptance  of  my  "trial  pieces"  for 
licensure  and  so  passed  me  up  among  the  ' '  fourth  year 
students,"  I  was  not  satisfied,  and  as  often  before  I  was 
greatly  depressed  in  the  fear  that  I  could  never  preach  the 
gospel;  and  I  remember  that  sometimes  I  was  strongly 
tempted  to  abandon  theological  studies. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RESPONSE    TO    Freedom's    Cali,. 

After  Presbytery  I  made  a  hurried  visit  to  my  brothers 
in  lyOgau  County,  gathered  up  nu'  books  and  effects  left 
there  during  my  horseback  ride,  and  returned  to  New 
Concord  to  take  charge  of  the  paper.  In  doing  this  I  knew 
that  I  was  assuming  responsibihties  which  I  was  not  pre- 
pared to  meet.  I  knew  little  about  a  publisher's  work  and 
not  much  about  an  editor's;  but  I  had  resolved  to  make  the 
effort  in  reliance  upon  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  yet  there 
were  so  many  inducements  to  work,  and  so  all-important 
were  the  questions  involved  in  the  anti-slavery  conflict  now 
growing  more  and  more  crucial,  I  would  have  been  ashamed 
of  myself  if  I  had  not  entered  into  the  work  with  a  zeal 
becoming  one  who  had  heard  the  appeal  of  the  slave — "Am 
I  not  a  man  and  brother?"  We  took  boarding  with  a  good 
Quaker  woman,  Mrs.  Berry,  sister-in-law  of  William  E. 
Lukens,  more  philanthropist  than  Christian,  and  a  mer- 
chant doing  business  in  the  same  house.  He  was  of  Quaker 
ancestors  but  had  drifted  away  from  the  old  Orthodox  faith; 
yet  he  was  a  very  earnest  Abolitionist,  more  Garrisonian 
than  political.  The  only  other  boarder  with  Mrs.  Berry 
was  David  Paul,  a  young  student  attending  Muskingum 
college,  a  rising  institution  under  the  control  principally  of 
the  Reformed  or  psalm-singing  churches.  At  this  time  the 
three  principal  professors  were  President  David  A.  Wallace, 
of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  Professor  William  F. 
George,  Reformed  Presbyterian,  and  Professor  Irvine, 
(86) 


RESPONSE   TO    FREEEOM's   CALI,,  87 

Associate  (Seceder).  The  leading  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  was  Rev.  Benjamin  Waddle,  pastor  of  the  Associate 
Reformed  congregation  and  resident  in  New  Concord. 

The  Covenanters  of  New  Concord  and  vicinity  were 
members  of  Salt  Creek  congregation,  old  father  Robert 
Wallace  pastor.  He  was  the  father  of  Rev.  James  Wallace 
and  Rev.  John  Wallace,  the  stepfather  of  Rev.  J.  L.  Mc- 
Cartney, and  the  grandfather  of  Rev.  S.  R.  Wallace  late  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  The  congregation  was  divided  into  three 
branches,  New  Concord  being  in  the  north  branch.  The 
house  of  worship  was  about  a  mile  from  the  town  and  there 
pastor  Wallace  preached  only  every  fourth  Sabbath.  On 
the  other  Sabbaths  most  of  the  members  met  in  prayer- 
meetings  at  private  houses. 

In  those  days,  as  ever  since  the  Westminster  Assembly, 
it  was  the  law  and  practise  in  the  Covenanter  Church  to 
read  on  three  several  Sabbaths  the  bans  of  marriage  after 
the  public  religious  services.  Had  the  reader  of  these  lines 
been  in  the  New  Concord  church  on  the  second  or  third 
Sabbath  of  November,  1848,  he  would  have  heard  after  the 
benediction  the  following  notice  read  by  the  precentor,  viz. 
"Marriage  is  intended  between  N.  R.  Johnston  of  New 
Concord  and  Miss  Kliza  A.  Patterson  of  Connersville,  Ind." 
And  then  if  the  same  listener  had  seen  the  New  Concord 
Free  Press  of  November  28  he  would  have  read  the  follow- 
ing notice  under  the  head  of  "Hymeneal,"  viz.  "Married 
on  the  i6th  inst.,  Mr.  N.  R.  Johnston,"  etc.  as  above. 
This  notice  will  recall  to  the  reader  what  is  recorded  on  a 
previous  page. 

David  Patterson  was  an  elder  in  the  Old  School  Presby- 
terian Church.  His  wife,  nee  Ann  McCracken,  and  all  the 
family  were  Presbyterians.  Mr.  Patterson  especially  was 
familiar  with  the  doctrines  and  practises  of  the  Covenanter 
Church,   and   so  far  from    being   prejudiced   against    them 


88  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

under  favorable  circumstances  would  have  been  a  Cov- 
enanter. So  long  as  the  famil)^  lived  in  Bellefontaine,  Ohio, 
they  mingled  much  with  Covenanter  societj^and  often  heard 
Covenanter  preaching,  and  the  oldest  daughter  was  married  to 
the  son  of  a  Covenanter.  After  my  visit  at  Connersville  the 
autumn  of  the  previous  year,  our  correspondence  by  letter 
was  renewed  and  during  the  year  the  questions  of  the  Cov- 
en inter  Creed  and  practise  were  much  discussed  and  books 
on  distinctive  principles  were  read  and  studied.  The  result 
was  that  at  the  first  opportunity  soon  after  our  marriage  Eliza 
united  with  the  Reformed  Pre-sbj^terian  Church  during  a 
communion  in  Salt  Creek  congregation. 

On  my  journey  from  New  Concord  to  Connersville  I 
stopped  in  Cincinnati  to  visit  my  old  professor  and  ni}^  fellow- 
students.  He  expressed  his  regret  that  I  was  not  in  the 
seminary  but  congratulated  me  upon  my  having  such  an 
opportunity  to  disseminate  anti-slavery  and  kindred  truths. 
He  said  that  the  New  Concord  Free  Press  was  the  first 
weekly  paper  ever  edited  b}'  a  Covenanter;  and  jocosely 
added  that  the  second  number  was  the  best  of  all.  In  that 
number  I  had  reprinted  his  late  tract  on  "Wicked  Rulers." 
It  came  out  just  about  the  time  of  the  election  of  General 
Zachary  Taylor  a  slaveholder. 

After  the  marriage  festivities  -at  Connersville,  and  the 
Sabbath  over,  we  made  our  wedding  tour  through  Cincin- 
nali,  up  the  Ohio  River  toSteubenville  and  to  Bloomingdale, 
Ohio,  where  we  visited  my  mother  and  the  other  friends. 
After  Sabbath  we  hurried  on  to  New  Concord  to  my  post  ot 
duty.  Now  I  had  a  helper  and  life  was  less  lonely  and 
work  more  joyous.  Did  the  wise  man  need  inspiration  to 
be  able  to  write:  "Whoso  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good 
thing,  and  obtaineth  favor  of  the  Lord?  " 

Furnishing  our  own  rooms  in  the  house  of  the  good 
Quaker  lady  with   whom  we  boarded,  I  made   our  private 


re;sponse  to  freedom's  cai^i..  89 

parlor  the  editor's  sanctum.  The  printing  office  was  only  a 
few  doors  distant.  Busy  were  the  days  of  the  winter  and 
spring  months  of  my  new  and  responsible  position.  To  the 
work  of  the  paper  were  added  some  others  that  I  might  not 
lose  my  interest  in  theology. 

In  Muskhigum  College  the  three  leading  professors  were 
students  of  theology.  Thej^  and  the  young  editor  organ- 
ized a  theological  club  or  lyceum  in  which  we  read  essays 
and  skeletons  or  homilies  and  debated  questions  germane  to 
our  position  and  purpose.  We  had  a  good  time  and  profit- 
able; and  though  of  different  churches  our  love  to  each 
other  grew  and  continued  through  life.  President  Wallace 
became  eminent  as  a  pastor  in  Kast  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
and  then  as  president  of  Monmouth  College.  After  having 
finished  his  studies,  Professor  Irvine  was  sent  as  a  missionary 
to  Oregon  and  spent  a  long  and  honored  life  as  pastor  of  a 
United  Presbyterian  congregation  at  Albany  of  that  state. 
Of  Professor  George  we  will  hear  more  on  subsequent  pages. 
All  these  have  passed  away  from  earth's  labors  to  the 
heavenly  rest  and  glory. 

During  the  late  autumn  of  1848  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
forming  the  acquaintance  of  Hon.  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  long  a 
member  of  Congress  from  North  Ohio.  During  all  his  time 
in  Congress,  from  1838  to  1859,  except  a  short  interregnum, 
he  was  a  prominent  anti-slavery" champion.  In  this  respect 
he  may  be  ranked  with  John  O.  Adams,  Charles  Sumner, 
and  Thaddeus  Stevens.  "In  1842  he  introduced  resolutions 
justifying  the  slaves  of  the  Creole,  who  captured  that  vessel 
on  her  way  from  Virginia  to  New  Orleans,  and  carried  her 
into  Nassau  where  their  right  of  freedom  was  recognized  by 
the  British  authorities."  His  action  caused  such  great 
excitement  in  the  House  that  he  withdrew  his  resolutions; 
nevertheless  he  was  formally  censured  by  Co  ogress.  This 
induced  him  to  resign.     But   his  anti-slavery  constituents 


QO  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THK   SUNSET   LAND. 

would  not  permit  him  to  remain  at  home.  They  reelected 
him  and  he  continued  in  Congress  until  1859. 

It  was  in  1848  and  shortly  after  Mr.  Giddings  had  left  the 
Whig  party  and  joined  the  "Free  Soilers"  that  he  came  to 
New  Concord  to  give  an  address  in  behalf  of  freedom.  Some 
of  us  met  him  on  his  arrival  to  conduct  him  to  the  meeting. 
It  had  rained  recently  and  the  streets  were  muddy.  At  the 
first  crossing  he  said:  "I  see  you  have  plenty  oi free  soil 
here."  He  knew  that  he  was  in  the  center  of  a  large  com- 
munity of  Abolitionists.  The  incident  was  characteristic  of 
the  man — cheerful  but  not  trivial,  full  of  vivacity  and  vigor 
but  not  egotistic.  His  speech  was  far  above  mediocrity, 
clear,  abounding  with  important  facts  spcfken  with  an  ear- 
nestness that  carried  conviction  in  the  minds  of  the  applaud- 
ing audience. 

Ohio  never  sent  a  truer  man  to  Washington.  After  Con- 
gress had  passed  censure  upon  Mr.  Giddings,  James  Russell 
Lowell  wrote  to  him  among  other  lines  the  following: 

"And  thou  shalt  aye  be  honorably  known, 
As  one  who  bravely  used  his  tongue  and  pen. 
As  best  befits  a  freeman, — even  for  those 
To  whom  our  law's  unblushing  front  denies 
A  right  to  plead  against  the  lifelong  woes 
Which  are  the  negro's  glimpse  of  Freedom's  skies." 

For  attainmeats  in  general  knowledge  useful  in  subsequent 
life  my  year  at  New  Concord  was  better  than  any  previous. 
By  correspondence,  by  the  reading  of  exchange.«,  and  by 
contact  with  Christians  and  Reformers,  my  mind  was  led 
into  new  channels  of  thought  and  my  love  of  the  truth  and 
the  right  increased  and  intensified.  On  the  exchange  list 
.were  the  Ohio  Anii-slavery  Bugle  and  the  North  Star  of 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  edited  by  Frederick  Douglass.  In  the 
Free  Press  was  an  editorial  under  the  head  of  "Errors 
in  lyOgic"  in  which  it  was  shown  that  some  of  the  Aboli- 


re;sponse  to  freedom's  call.  91 

tionists    had    been    led    into   opposition  to  Christianity,   as 
understood    by  the    Evangelicals,    by  the    fact    that    many 
Christian  ministers  were  defenders  of  slavery  and  that  most 
of  the  large  Christian    denominations    fellowshiped   slave- 
holders and  were  identified   with   the  government  under  a 
pro-slavery  Constitution.     Even  the  mind   of  Mr.   Garrison 
himself  had  become  so  soured  against  the  churches  that  he 
seemed  to  be  alienated  against  if  not  opposed  to  some  of  the 
fundamental   Christian    doctrines.     The  error  consisted   in 
not  clearly  distinguishing  between  pure  religion  and  its  pro- 
fessed adherents — between  the  true  coin  and  its  counter. eit. 
The  fact  was  that  the  pro-slavery  character  of  so  many  min- 
isters and  so  many  churches  led   -ome  of  the  Abolitionists 
into  partial  if  not  real  infidelity.     If  not,  some  infidels  u.sed 
the  character  of  the  churches  as  an  argument  against  Chris- 
tianity and  a  justification  of  their  non-acceptance  of  it.      In 
reply  to  the  Free  Press  the  Bugle  had   an  ably  written  arti- 
cle  under  the   head   of   "Cobwebs."      The  editor,   Oliver 
Johnson,  though  a  most  excellent  man,  earnest  Abolitionist, 
and  able  writer,  undertook   to  brush  away  all   that  we  had 
written  under   "Errors  in   Logic."      He  himself  was  so  far 
from  being  Evangelical  in  his  religious  belief  that  he  was 
really  although  not  professedly  a  foe  to  Evangelical  Chris- 
tianity.    Indeed,  immense    wrong  was  done  to  religion   by 
the  pro-slavery  churches  and   ministers.     They  were  called 
"The  Bulwark  of  American  Slavery,"  and  Henry  C.  Wright 
wrote  a  book  calling  them  '  'The  Den  of  Thieves  ' '     And  it 
can  never  be  forgotten  that  to  their  shame  the  Christian(?) 
slaveholders  of  the  United  States  did  not  cease  to  buy  and 
sell  unoffending  men,  women  and  children  until  after  the  war 
and  the  emancipation  act  set  free  their  captives.      As  with 
God  all  things  are  possible,  we  may  hope  that  many  of  them 
were  led  to  repentance  and  were  saved  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb. 


92  LOOKING   BACK    F'ROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

M}^  first  acquaintance  wiih  Frederick  Douglass    was   on 
paper  when  he  was  editor  at  Rochester.     After  he  obtained 
his   freedom   up  until  about  the  time   that  the  Free  Press 
came  under  my  charge  he  was  a  Garrisonian  Abolitionist, 
i.  e.  he  believed  the  Federal  Constitution  to  be  a  pro-slavery 
compact  and  consequently  that  no  Abolitionist  could  rightly 
swear  to  support  it  or  vote    under   it.     The    Garrisonians 
were   called  "Comeouters"   because    they  came  out  of  the 
government  or  ceased  to  be  in  any  way  identified  with  it. 
Covenanters   differed    from    them   in   this,    that    these    had 
never  been  in  the  government  and  so  could  not  come  out. 
Mr.  Douglass  changed  his  position  and  maintained  it  in  his 
North  Star,   arguing  like  Gerrit  Smith,   William    Goodell 
and  others,  that  the  Constitution  was  an  anti-slavery  docu- 
ment and  that  it  empowered  Congress  to  abolish    slavery. 
This  strange  and  most  untenable  position,  as  it  was  main- 
tained by  Mr.   Douglass,   was  confronted  in  the  Free  Press 
and  its  fallacy  shown  in  as  kind  words  as  the  editor  could 
use.     It  led  to  some  controversy  between  the  two  papers. 
Then  some  years  afterwards,  at  one  of  the  anniversaries  of 
the  National  Anti-slavery  Society  held  in  New  York,  Presi- 
dent   William  Lloyd  Garrison  in   the   chair,   Mr.  Douglass 
engaged   in  the  discussion   of  one  of  the  resolutions    and 
defended  his  change  of  position.     Two  Vermont  Covenanter 
ministers  were  present,  one   the  pastor  of  Craftsbury  con- 
gregation  and  the  other  the  pastor  of  Topsham.     Strange 
to  say,  without  any  forethought  or  previous  plans,  it  fell  to 
the  lot  of  the  two  Covenanters  to  antagonize  Mr.  Douglass' 
new  theory.     The  Garrisonians  applauded,  and,  being  largely 
in  the  majority,  when  the  vote  was  taken  on  the  resolution 
it  was  adopted  almost  unanimously.     Mr.  Douglass  was  too 
much  of  a  gentleman  to  show  any  ill  feeling,   and  never 
afterwards  did  he  allude  to  it.     My  estimate  of  the  man,  not 
noticing  his  faults,  appeared  in  the  public  daily  Press  soon 
after  his  death  in  Washington  City. 


RESPONSE   TO    FREEDOM'S   CALL.  93 

During  the  anti-slavery  struggle  the  churches  most  deeply 
involved  in  the  sin  of  fellowshiping  slaveholders  were  the 
Old  School  Presbyterians,  the  Methodist,  the  Baptist,  and 
the  Episcopal.  They  all  had  a  large  membership  in  the 
south  and  the  northern  members  generally  approved  of 
their  brethren  in  the  south  holding  slaves.  In  none  of  these 
four  churches  was  there  any  statute  law  prohibiting  the  sin. 
Moreover,  when  any  of  the  anti-slavery  members  agitated 
the  question  and  testified  against  slaveholding  they  were 
denounced  as  "disturbers  of  the  peace  of  Zion."  This 
agitation  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  in  the  Methodist 
increased  until  from  each  there  were  many  withdrawals  and 
the  number  sufficient  to  constitute  new  denominations. 
The  Presbyterians,  most  of  whom  were  in  eastern  Ohio  and 
western  Pennsylvania,  organized  a  presbytery  in  1847  called 
the  Free  Presbytery  of  Mahoning.  This  and  the  Presbytery 
of  Ripley,  Ohio,  united  and  formed  the  Free  Presbyterian 
Synod.  In  the  former.  Rev.  Arthur  B.  Bradford  and  Rev. 
Joseph  Gordon  were  active  and  leading  members.  As  the 
organ  of  this  anti-slaver}^  Presbyterian  Church  a  weekly 
paper,  the  Free  Presbyterian,  edited  by  Rev.  Gordon  and 
published  at  Mercer,  Pennsylvania,  was  inaugurated  in  the 
year  1850.  Some  years  afterwards  it  was  merged  in  the 
Cliristian  Press  of  Cincinnati. 

To  illustrate  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  the  influences 
that  led  to  the  organization  of  the  Free  Presbyterian  Church 
the  following  may  be  recorded.  Joseph  Gordon,  when  a 
licentiate  in  the  Old  School  Presbyterian  Church  and  when 
occupying  the  chair  of  mathematics  in  Franklin  College, 
was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
New  Athens.  This  occurred  after  the  action  of  the  General 
Assembly  at  Cincinnati  in  1845  i"  which,  after  hearing 
memorials  asking  some  anti-slavery  deliverance  by  the 
assembly,  it  was  declared  that  "dome-tic  slavery  under  the 


94  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

circumstances  in  which  it  is  found  in  the  southern  portion 
of  our  country  is  no  bar  to  Christian  communion."  Pro- 
fessor Gordon  had  written  one  or  two  letters  which  were 
pubHshed  in  the  Cadiz  Liberty  Advocate  in  which  in  strong 
and  severe  terms  he  condemned  the  action  of  the  assembly. 
In  the  St.  Clairsville  Presbytery  the  call  of  the  New  Athens 
congregation  was  accepted,  and  after  his  examination  for 
ordination  had  been  approved  and  everything  was  ready  for 
the  ordination,  a  member  informed  the  court  that  the  can- 
didate had  publicly  written  language  about  the  action  of 
the  General  Assembly  that  should  be  known  by  Presby- 
tery. A  committee  was  appointed  to  examine  the  published 
letters  and  report  on  their  character,  etc.  The  committee 
reported  a  series  of  resolutions  condemning  Mr.  Gordon  and 
depriving  him  of  his  license  to  preach.  After  fruitless 
efforts  to  have  Presbytery  rescind  its  action,  the  congrega- 
tion withdrew  from  the  church,  the  pastor  elect  asked  ordi- 
nation of  Ripley  Presbytery  of  the  Free  Church,  and  this 
was  followed  by  the  congregation  going  over  into  the  same. 
Subsequently  he  and  the  congregation  were  connected  with 
the  Mahoning  Presbytery  of  the  Free  Church. 

After  the  war  and  emancipation  when  Presbyterians  could 
hold  slaves  no  more,  the  Free  Church  gradually  diminished 
by  the  members  going  back  into  the  mother  church  or  into 
the  New  School  branch;  and  finally  the  Synod  and  the 
Presbyteries  were  dissolved.  The  anti-slavery  Presbyteri- 
ans who  had  come  out  of  a  pro  slavery  church  now  fell 
back  into  the  same  church  whose  members  had  lost  their 
property  but  who,  neither  church  nor  old  master,  had  re- 
pented of  the  sin.  But  the  people  of  this  generation  either 
forget  or  approve  of  the  deed.  The  War  of  the  Rebellion 
which  resulted  in  freedom  to  the  millions  was  a  leveler; 
and  to-day  few  members  of  the  great  reunited  Presbyterian 
Church   of  the  north   know  that  there  ever  was  a  ''Free 


RESPONSE   TO   freedom's   CALL.  95 

Presbyterian  Church."  Even  the  Presbyterian  Christian 
Kndeavorers  of  to-day  hardly  know  that  ever  there  were  two 
churches,  Old  School  and  New  School;  and  if  it  were  not 
for  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  South  that  still  refuses 
to  unite  with  the  Church  of  the  North,  they  would  hardly 
know  how  slow  old  slaveholders  are  to  repent  of  their  en- 
slaving their  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  church. 

In  the  Methodist  Church  similar  causes  led  to  similar 
effects.  Some  of  the  anti-slavery  Methodists  of  the  north 
were  so  dissatisfied  with  the  toleration  of  slavery  and  the 
fellowship  of  slaveholders  in  all  the  southern  states  that 
they  .seceded  and  organized  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church. 
They  were  generally  called  "The  Wesleyans."  They  were 
great  agitators.  They  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  mother 
church  from  which  they  obtained  recruits.  lyike  the  Free 
Presbyterians  they  fought  a  good  fight;  and,  like  the  i-ame, 
most  of  them  went  back  into  the  mother  church  shortly 
after  the  Lord  of  hosts  by  the  bloody  sword  had  broken  the 
oppression's  yoke  so  that  neither  Methodist  nor  other  slave- 
owner could  any  longer  compel  his  fellow-man  to  grind  in 
the  prison-house  or  stand  upon  the  auction  block. 

These  two  little  anti-slavery  churches  were  two  brave 
companies  in  the  Army  of  Freedom.  They  were  two  bands 
of  witnesses  for  human  rights  and  for  a  free  church.  They 
hastened  the  day  when  God  set  free  the  captives.  It  would 
have  been  for  the  honor  of  others,  as  the  great  Baptist 
Chu-  ch  or  the  Episcopalians,  if  from  these  there  had  been 
seceders  sufficient  to  organize  anti-slavery  churches.  But 
emancipation  came  without  their  aid,  and  they  as  well  as 
the  freemen  share  with  others  the  blessings  of  the  jubilee 
which  followed  the  blowing  of  the  trumpet  throughout  all 
the  land.     Let  God  have  all  the  glory. 

Besides  the  great  questions  involved  in  the  anti-slavery 
conflict  the  Concord  Free  Press  endeavored  to  be  a  leader  of 


96  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

thought  in  other  reforms.  In  its  advocacy  of  total  abstinence 
and  in  the  fight  against  the  legahzed  liquor  traffic  it  knew 
no  compromise;  and  by  its  opposition  to  the  secret  lodge 
system  it  gained  the  disfavor  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  to 
whom  our  columns  had  been  given  for  the  defense  of  that 
secret  order.     The  paper  was  a  Free  Press. 

The  editor  wrote  occasionally  in  favor  of  "female  physi- 
cians," or  the  right  of  women  to  study  and  practise  medicine. 
A  highly-educated  old-school  practitioner  in  the  town,  and 
a  professor  in  the  college,  came  out  in  a  series  of  articles 
against  the  reform.  He  would  permit  no  woman,  however 
well  qualified,  to  practise  medicine  according  to  any  system 
or  "pathy;"  and  in  this  he  voiced  the  popular  sentiment. 
Against  this  narrow  sentiment  and  in  defense  of  woman  the 
editor  freely  used  the  columns  of  the  paper.  At  that  time 
there  were  almost  no  women  physicians  in  the  whole  country. 
No  woman  could  enter  as  a  student  in  anj-  medical  college, 
nor  was  there  a  woman's  medical  school  in  all  the  land. 
Perhaps  the  writer  will  now  be  tolerated  in  saying  that  at 
that  time,  nearly  half  a  century  ago,  his  convictions  in  favor 
of  this  right  of  woman  were  as  strong  as  now  when  all  fair- 
minded  people  award  the  right  to  woman.  Let  reformers 
who  are  almost  alone  be  encouraged  to  speak  boldlj'  for  the 
right. 

Will  the  reader  tolerate  the  writer  in  speaking  as  freely 
about  the  different  systems  of  medical  practise?  I  am  con- 
strained to  record  it  here  that  during  the  year  I  had  charge 
of  the  Press  my  opinion  as  to  their  relative  worth  or  merit 
underwent  an  entire  change.  From  my  own  experience 
with  allopathic  physicians  during  two  attacks  of  sickness  in 
fever,  from  my  own  observation,  and  from  what  I  learned  of 
treatment  given  to  my  friend  before  our  marriage,  I  became 
so  persuaded  that  there  is  something  radically  erroneous  in 
the  theory  as  well  as  the  practise  of  the  old- school  doctors, 


RKSPONSE    TO    FREEDOM'S    CALL.  97 

I  was  ready  to  adopt  some  other,  not  to  saj^  any  other,  that 
I  believed  to  be  better.  On  the  exchange  list  was  Dr.  R.  T. 
Trail's  monthly  journal  of  health,  an  able  advocate  of  the 
hygienic  system.  During  the  year  I  read  it  as  well  as  other 
exchanges  as  much  as  my  time  would  permit.  Gradually  I 
accepted  the  truths  of  the  hygienic  system,  renounced  the 
errors  and  fallacies  of  every  system  of  drug  medication,  and 
denounced  especially  all  alcoholic  medication,  not  only 
because  it  leads  to  drunkenness  but  also  because  of  the 
harm  done  to  the  patient.  Having  become  satisfied  that 
neither  in  sickness  nor  in  health  is  it  proper  to  take  poison 
into  the  stomach,  even  poison  called  medicine — that  the  God 
of  nature  has  furnished  all  necessary  medicines,  and  that 
"Vis  Naturae"  is  the  all-powerful  healer  whether  with 
or  without  prayer,  from  that  day  to  this  during  nearly  half 
a  century  I  have  conscientiously  and  totally  eschewed  all 
drug  medicines  and  have  never  tasted  a  drop  or  a  grain  of 
poison  even  though  called  medicine.  By  the  blessing  of 
God  during  all  this  half  century,  though  never  enjoying 
perfect  health,  I  never  have  been  so  sick  as  to  call  in  a 
physician.  Nor  do  I  complain  of  cross-bearing  when  I  here 
record  that  during  all  these  years  some  of  my  friends,  and 
some  who  were  not  my  friends,  whatever  of  good  they  may 
have  seen  in  me,  because  of  my  peculiar  opinions  as  to 
hygiene  and  dietetics  ever  regarded  me  as  "too  crotchety"  if 
not  an  outright  "crank."  Well!  What  of  it?  If  I  who 
after  the  doctor  had  drugged  me  almost  to  death  never 
enjoyed  a  year  of  good  health,  had  a  mortal  fear  of  the  lance 
and  the  pills  and  the  powders  and  the  drops  and  the  alcoholic 
tonic,  and  if  I  choose  to  eschew  swine's  flesh  and  the  fiery 
condiments  and  coffee  and  tea,  why  could  not  my  friends 
see  that  I  would  rather  be  called  "crotchety"  or  even  a 
"crank"  than  to  have  the  pleasure  of  lying  upon  a  sick  bed 
and  the  luxury  of  paying  doctor  bills  ? 
7 


98  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSF.T   LAND. 

That  we  might  be  more  retired  and  enjoy  the  advantages 
of  country  life,  and  that  I  might  have  a  health-imparting 
walk  every  morning  and  evening,  when  the  spring  time  came 
we  took  boarding  with  a  Covenanter  family,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wylie,  living  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  the  country.  Mrs. 
Wylie  was  a  sister  of  student  J.  L.  McCartney  afterwards 
pastor  and  professor  at  North  wood.  We  greatly  enjoyed 
our  country  life  and  our  home  in  such  an  excellent  family, 
kind,  intelligent,  and  pious.  Would  that  the  church  were 
full  of  such.  Part  of  my  daily  walk  to  and  fro  was  b)^  a  path 
through  the  native  forest.  This  added  much  to  my  enjoy- 
ment. The  quiet,  the  solitude,  the  beauty  of  the  woods! 
Yes,  "the  groves  were  God's  first  temples." 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  or  early  autumn 
some  of  my  friends,  notably  my  brother  J.  B.  and  my  old 
fellow-student,  A.  M.  Milligan,  who  seemed  to  fear  that  I 
might  be  inclined  to  continue  editor  nnd  not  return  to  the 
theological  seminary,  wrote  to  me  several  times  urging  me 
to  resume  my  studies,  insisting  that  as  I  had  set  my  face 
towards  the  ministry  I  should  not  remain  connected  with  the 
Press  after  the  expiration  of  my  year.  I  can  not  forget  the 
conflict  through  which  I  passed.  I  always  had  suffered 
through  the  fear  that  I  never  could  attain  to  much  usefulness 
in  the  ministry.  I  greatly  feared  that  through  lack  of  mem- 
ory and  vocabulary  and  of  almost  everything  that  is  requi- 
site to  what  people  call  a  good  speaker,  I  could  never  be  an 
acceptable  preacher  or  successful  minister.  And  on  the 
other  hand  I  saw  the  great  need  of  witnesses  and  workers  in 
the  cause  of  truth  and  right;  and  I  knew  the  influence  of 
the  Press  for  good.  God  knew  best;  and  I  tried  to  follow 
the  leadings  of  his  providence.  Not  unmindful  of  the  advice 
of  my  friends,  I  opened  a  correspondence  with  Mr.  Matthew 
Wilkin,  a  teacher  and  an  elder  in  the  Greenfield  congrega- 
tion, to  whom  I  offered  the  paper.     It  resulted  in  the  trans- 


RESPONSE    TO    FREEDOM  S    CALL.  99 

fer  of  it  into  his  hands;  and  the  name  was  changed  to  The 
True  Witness. 

Thus  sped  my  year  as  a  witness  for  freedom  and  in  testi- 
mony against  a  system  and  a  constitution  and  government 
and  people  that  made  merchandise  of  one-seventh  of  all  the 
people  of  the  land  and  having  no  apology  but  that  they  were 
black.     As 

' '  They  are  slaves  who  fear  to  speak 
For  the  fallen  and  the  weak," 

SO  I  thanked  the  God  of  the  poor  that  he  called  me  to  speak 
for  the  slave  and  to  plead  with  the  people  to  break  every 
yoke.  And  if  in  any  measure  He  used  the  influence  of  the 
Free  Press  to  hasten  the  day  when  liberty  was  proclaimed 
throughout  all  the  land,  I  do  not  regret  that  I  gave  a  j^ear's 
time  and  hard  work  to  the  cause.  It  was  a  school  in  which 
I  was  better  prepared  for  the  duties  to  which  my  Master 
called  me  afterwards.  Within  two  years  the  infamous 
fugitive-slave  law  was  passed,  and  in  less  than  half  a  genera- 
tion the  slaveholders  hung  John  Brown  and  raised  the  flag 
of  rebellion. 


CHAPTER  X. 
Fourth  Year  of  Theological  Study. 

By  the  action  of  the  last  Synod  and  the  board  of  superin- 
tendents the  theological  seminary  was  removed  from  Cincin- 
nati to  Northwood.  This  change  was  made  partly  in  the 
interest  of  Geneva  College  and  largely  for  the  sake  of  the 
Seminary.  Rev.  J.  M.  Willson,  pastor  of  the  First  Philadel- 
phia congregation,  had  been  chosen  president  of  the  college 
with  the  expectation  that  he  could  teach  also  in  the  seminary 
during  its  sessions.  Mr.  Wilkin  relieved  me  of  the  paper  in 
time  for  me  to  be  present  at  the  opening  of  the  seminary. 

I  left  New  Concord  with  reluctance  and  not  without  sad- 
ness. We  had  many  friends  there.  I  think  that  both  the 
Covenanters  and  the  friends  of  reform  would  have  been  glad 
if  we  had  remained.  Perhaps  if  the  paper  had  been  remun- 
erative or  even  paid  its  own  expenses  we  would.  But  after 
using  all  possible  economy  and  paying  all  dues,  not  a  dollar 
of  surplus  remained.  It  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise 
as  the  paper  was  the  organ  of  an  unpopular  cause,  had  a 
small  subscription  list,  and  had  no  revenue  except  from  the 
subscribers  and  from  a  few  advertisements.  And  so  when 
we  reached  Northwood  our  funds  were  almost  exhausted. 
I  remembered  the  saying  of  the  old  professor  that  "it  is  no 
sin  to  be  poor  but  it  is  very  inconvenient . ' '  Perhaps  it  was 
best  for  us  that  we  were  poor.  By  the  unexpected  kindness 
of  a  friend  to  poor  students  we  were  able  to  rent  a  room  in 
an  old  log  cabin  and  to  furnish  it  so  that  we  could  remain 
in  it  through  the  five  months  of  the  session.  It  served  the 
(loo) 


FOURTH   YEAR   OF   THEOLOGICAL  STUDY.  lOl 

purpose  of  kitchen,  dining-room,  parlor,  bedroom  and  study. 
No  king  or  queen  ever  lived  more  happily.  Our  fuel  did 
not  cost  much.  I  bought  beech  logs  hauled  from  the  forest 
and  cut  our  own  stove-wood.  I  had  no  need  of  a  gymna- 
sium.    The  axe  was  better  than  dumb-bells. 

It  was  my  last  session  in  the  seminary.  I  had  entered 
with  the  determination  to  make  it  one  of  hard  study  and 
hoping  that  the  last  would  be  the  best  of  the  four;  and  I 
had  expected  it  to  be  the  most  pleasant  of  all.  But  the  old 
Adversary  had  been  laying  his  most  malicious  plans  to 
destroy  the  seminary.  He  took  advantage  of  the  weak- 
nesses of  both  men  and  women,  and  in  an  evil  hour  brought 
ruin.  If  the  events  of  that  session  of  the  seminary  had  not 
been  recorded  upon  the  pages  of  history  I  would  hope  that 
they  might  pass  into  oblivion.  All  that  I  need  to  say  here 
is  that  within  a  month  or  two  troubles  arose  between  the 
professor  and  the  students  that  resulted  in  the  withdrawal 
from  his  administration  of  eleven  of  the  sixteen  students. 
Our  reasons  of  withdrawal  were  written  and  addressed  to 
the  professor  and  laid  upon  his  table  in  the  class-room,  after 
which  we  retired.  This  was  followed  by  our  formal  suspen- 
sion by  the  act  of  Dr.  Willson.  In  sorrow  of  heart  and  in 
the  hope  that  reconciliation  might  be  made,  and  that  we 
might  continue  our  studies  as  closely  as  possible  meanwhile, 
we  chose  two  of  our  members  to  hear  the  class  lessons,  and 
these  after  a  week  or  two  exchanged  with  other  chosen  two. 
In  this  way  we  were  able  as  best  we  could  to  finish  the 
principal  studies  arranged  for  the  session.  The  greatest 
labor  was  bestowed  upon  Hebrew  and  Turritin's  Theology. 
Our  greatest  loss  was  in  not  having  the  lectures  of  the 
professor.  A  while  after  the  withdrawal  the  eleven  issued  a 
circular  letter  to  the  ministers  of  the  church,  in  which  we 
made  our  defense.  Not  long  afterwards  the  eleven,  after 
fasting  and  prayer,  engaged  in  an  act  of  solemn  covenanting 


102  tOOKiNG   BACK    FROM    THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

in  a  bond  that  had  been  prepared  with  great  care.  It  was  a 
time  of  heart-searching  and  sorrow,  and  we  all  thought  that 
it  was  also  a  time  of  revival.  The  bond,  written  and  sub- 
scribed on  paper  only,  never  was  made  public  until  in  the 
year  1895  or  1896  when  it  was  published,  but  without 
authority,  in  the  Christian  Nation.  At  this  writing  only  six 
of  the  eleven  are  living;  and  of  these  only  four  are  now  in 
the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church.  Of  the  five  students 
who  remained  with  the  professor  only  two  continued  their 
studies  and  were  licensed;  and  only  one  of  these  continued 
in  the  church  until  his  death,  viz.  Rev.  Dr.  McDonald. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Superintendents  the  professor  preferred  charges  against 
the  eleven.  In  the  trial  we  defended  ourselves  as  well  as 
we  could;  and  without  either  party  being  censured  some 
kind  of  compromise  was  made,  and  amid  tears  and  hand- 
shaking the  sad  scenes  of  the  session  closed.  Many  years 
passed  before  the  wounds  were  healed.  The  first  to  manifest 
his  forgiveness  to  me  (I  can  not  speak  for  the  others)  was 
my  dear  old  professor  whom  I  loved  all  through  the  troubles 
and  to  the  end.  Through  the  mercy  of  God  our  Saviour, 
whom  he  served  so  well,  I  hope  to  sit  with  him  at  the  feet 
of  our  divine  Teacher  in  the  Church  of  the  Redeemed. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

IvICEXSURR   AND   EVANGELISTIC    WORK. 

The  time  of  the  spring  meeting  of  Presbytery  was  now- 
near  at  hand,  and  it  was  expected  that  I  would  be  prepared 
for  licensure.  As  the  time  drew  nearer  I  was  greatly  de- 
pressed in  fear  that  I  could  not  stand  the  examination  or 
that  I  was  unfit  to  preach  the  gospel.  My  friend  and 
brother,  John  French,  who  was  shortly  to  be  ordained  and 
installed  as  pastor  of  Cedar  Lake  congregation  and  to  whom 
I  had  expressed  m}'  fears,  encouraged  me  and  assured  me 
that  Presbytery  would  no  doubt  license  me.  I  was  influ- 
enced by  his  advice  and  appeared  for  examination  and  gave 
my  final  "trial  pieces."  These  were  a  lecture  on  Hebrews 
6:  r  -6,  and  a  sermon  on  the  text,  "By  grace  ye  are  saved." 
The  former  being  a  very  difficult  passage  was  carefull)^ 
studied  and  was  given  extempore  i.  e.  neither  read  nor 
memorized.  In  the  discussion  I  argued  that  in  the  verses  is 
a  description  of  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  the  un- 
pardonable sin;  but  the  lecture  was  too  lengthy,  and  when 
about  two-thirds  of  it  had  been  given  a  member  arose  and 
said  he  was  satisfied  with  what  he  had  heard  and  thought 
Presbytery  did  not  need  to  hear  the  whole  of  the  lecture. 
Meanwhile  I  sat  down  to  wait  to  see  what  Presbytery  would 
do,  and  I  confess  that  I  felt  a  little  unconcerned  for  I  thought 
that  they  should  not  have  given  me  a  pa.ssage  so  difficult. 
Rev.  J.  C  Boyd  arose  and  said:  "No,  Mr.  Moderator,  we 
have  the  time,  and  I  wish  to  hear  that  lecture  all  through.'" 
The  moderator  turning  to  me  said,  "Go  on."     I  went  at  it 

(103) 


104  I^OOKING   BACK   FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

again  but  "cut  it  as  short"  as  I  could.  My  sermon  was 
written  and  memorized  and  was  only  about  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  in  length.  That  was  the  last  sermon  I  ever  memo- 
rized and  delivered  verbatim. 

The  examination  had  been  "sustained,"  and  now  "the 
pieces  of  trial"  for  licensure  were  approved.  The  crucial 
time  was  past  and  I  was  greatly  relieved.  I  am  sure  that 
no  member  of  Presbytery  could  know  through  what  fears 
and  anxi.eties  I  had  been  passing.  All  being  ready,  Presby- 
tery proceeded  according  to  their  usual  form  to  license  me  to 
preach  the  gospel.  L/icensed?  lyicensed  to  preach?  To 
preach  what?  The  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  None  but 
the  Searcher  of  the  heart  could  know  with  what  fears  and 
trembling  hesitation  I  accepted  the  license.  I  could  not  be 
sure  that  the  divine  Master  gave  me  license,  and  I  was  over- 
whelmed with  the  thought  of  "who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things  ? ' '  And  yet  I  suppose  that  at  the  time  I  felt  author- 
ized to  attempt  the  work  because  I  had  no  better  way  to 
judge  the  mind  of  Christ  than  by  the  voice  of  his  church. 
The  licensure  occurred  in  April,  1850. 

And  now  the  time  had  come  when  the  little  dual  family  in 
the  Northvvood  log  cabin  must  be  separated.  Disposing  of 
our  few  articles  of  household  goods,  Eliza  prepared  to  make 
a  loug  visit  with  the  old  folks  at  home  and  I  prepared  to 
depart  to  fill  appointments.  A  few  of  these  were  in  L,akes 
Presbytery,  the  two  first  Sabbaths  being  at  Macedon,  Ohio, 
where  was  only  a  mission  station.  Thence  I  went  to  Beech- 
woods  and  to  Garrison  to  preach  two  Sabbaths  for  the  pastor. 
Rev.  Josiah  Dodds.  iVs  the  latter  was  not  far  from  Conners- 
ville.  Father  Patterson's  residence,  Eliza  rode  with  me  to 
church.  This  was  the  first  time  after  my  licensure  that  she 
had  the  opportunity  to  hear  her  husband  preach.  My  next 
appointments  were  in  Cincinnati  where  I  remained  probably 
three  or  four  Sabbaths,  and  then  by  the  order  of  Synod  I 
went  into  the  Presbytery  of  Illinois. 


I^ICENSURE   AND   EVANGELISTIC   WORK.  I05 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1850,  wheu  cholera  was  raging  in 
Cincinnati,  I  took  an  Ohio  steamer  bound  to  St.  Louis.  I 
was  glad  to  get  out  of  the  city  on  account  of  the  cholera 
and  because  the  hot  season  had  already  begun.  Soon  after 
I  had  gone  a')oard  the  boat  a  man  and  wife  took  pa.ssage  for 
St.  Louis.  The  man  was  sick  and  it  was  soon  ascertained 
that  his  di.sease  was  cholera.  Afterward  his  wife  also  was 
attacked.  They  had  no  friends  on  the  steamer.  The  physi- 
cian could  find  none  to  act  as  nurse.  A  young  man  with 
whom  I  had  become  slightly  acquainted  and  I  agreed  to  care 
for  the  sick  man  and  told  the  physician  that  we  would. 
Following  the  doctor's  directions  we  watched  with  him, 
gave  him  his  medicines,  rubbed  him  when  he  had  cramps, 
and  did  all  we  could  for  him,  one  of  us  being  with  him  all 
the  time  night  and  day.  While  with  him  and  indeed  all 
the  time  1  had  little  or  no  fear  of  the  disease.  My  compas- 
sion for  the  man  in  his  sufferings  disarmed  my  fears.  He 
was  very  anxious  about  his  sick  wife  whom  he  could  not  see 
as  she  lay  in  a  separate  room.  Before  our  steamer  reached 
Evansville,  Indiana,  where  I  had  to  leave  it,  the  sick  man 
had  passed  through  the  worst  stages  of  the  awful  disease  and 
the  doctor  said  he  would  recover.  I  learned  afterwards  that 
his  wife  died  on  board  the  steamer  and  was  buried  in  the 
sand  near  the  river  at  Cairo,  Illinois. 

Landing  at  Evansville  I  went  to  the  hotel  at  which  my 
friend,  William  T.  Acheson,  licentiate,  had  died  of  cholera 
a  short  time  before.  He  had  taken  passage  on  an  Ohio 
steamer  on  his  way  to  Princeton  where  he  had  appointments 
to  preach.  He  was  taken  sick  on  board  the  steamer,  left  it  at 
Evansville,  found  his  way  to  a  hotel,  and  wrote  to  one  of  the 
elders  at  Princeton.  Two  of  them  came  and  took  care  of 
him  until  his  death.  They  buried  the  body  in  the  Evans- 
ville cemetery.  I  loved  William  T.  Acheson.  He  was  the 
son  of  my  father's  friend,   Elder  William  Acheson  of  the 


io6  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

First  Reformed  Presbyterian  congregation  of  New  York,  a 
man  of  rare  excellence  as  well  as  a  faithful  Covenanter.  I 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  son  after  his  licensure  and 
saw  him  to  be  a  young  man  of  brilliant  mind  and  superior 
scholarship  and  of  lovely  character.  When  I  stood  at  his 
newly-made  grave  I  could  not  suppress  the  reflection:  When 
such  young  men  are  so  much  needed  and  so  promising,  why 
does  the  Master  who  teaches  us  to  "pray  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  that  he  will  send  more  laborers  into  the  harvest," 
remove  one  hence  when  his  usefulness  is  only  beginning? 

Having  fulfilled  my  appointments  at  Princeton  I  hastened 
on  to  St.  lyouis  and  thence  to  Hickory  Grove  congregation 
in  Iowa,  now  called  Sharon.  The  sacrament  of  the  supper 
had  been  administered  the  Sabbath  before  by  Rev.  James 
Wallace  a.ssisted  by  licentiate  James  M.  McDonald.  On  the 
Monday  following,  Mr.  Wallace  had  moderated  in  a  call 
which  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Mr.  McDonald.  At  that 
time  the  congregation  was  young,  not  numerous  in  member- 
ship, and  without  any  house  of  worship.  The  communion 
had  been  held  in  a  hickory  grove,  whence  the  first  name  of 
the  congregation.  While  I  was  there  the  services  were  part 
of  the  time  in  the  grove  and  part  in  the  barn  of  Elder 
William  Mcllhinny.  This  was  the  first  Covenanter  congre- 
gation organized  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  It  soon  in- 
creased rapidly,  mostly  by  immigration,  until  it  became  a 
large  church  and  has  ever  since  continued  to  have  the  larg- 
est membership  west  of  the  river. 

While  in  the  bounds  I  preached  on  week  days  at  several 
distant  schoolhouses  at  places  where  afterwards  congrega- 
tions were  organized,  as  at  L,inn  Grove  where  was  the  resi- 
dence of  my  warm  friend.  Elder  Robert  Brown.  On  the 
Monday  evening  after  the  last  Sabbath  spent  at  Hickory 
Grove  I  preached  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Burlington, 
Iowa,  where  were  a  few  Covenanters.      At  that  time  cholera 


wcensure;  and  evangelistic  work.  T07 

was  raging  in  the  town,  not  yet  a  city.  Six  deaths  occurred 
the  day  before. 

My  work  in  Iowa  being  done  I  came  by  boat  down  to  St. 
Louis  where  I  preached  again  and  as  before  in  a  private 
dwelling.  The  number  of  Covenanters  was  small  and  they 
had  no  house  of  worship.  My  lodging-place  was  in  the 
family  of  Mrs.  Armour,  the  widowed  mother  of  my  friend 
John  M.  Armour.  It  was  in  the  heated  season,  the  nights 
very  hot,  and  the  people  of  the  city  in  fear  of  the  cholera 
now  increasing  daily.  I  was  glad  when  my  appointments 
were  all  fulfilled. 

In  those  days  there  were  no  railroads  anywhere  in  that 
part  of  the  great  Mississippi  valley,  and  I  had  my  choice  to 
return  home  by  the  river  route  or  by  stage  through  Illinois 
and  Indiana.  Because  of  the  prevalence  of  cholera  on  the 
river  steamers  I  preferred  to  travel  by  stage. 

In  our  coach  leaving  St.  Louis  Monday  morning  was 
a  young  Catholic  priest  or  student  on  his  way  to  the 
Catholic  seminary  of  Notre  Dame,  Indiana.  He  was  in 
mortal  fear  of  the  cholera.  At  the  first  place  for  changing 
horses  he  went  into  the  bar  of  the  hotel  to  get  his  glass  of 
liquor.  After  a  few  hours'  travel  and  coming  to  another 
hotel  with  its  bar,  our  student  companion  was  again  about 
to  get  his  dram  when  I  remonstrated  and  tried  to  persuade 
him  not  to  go.  He  persisted  and  urged  as  his  excuse  that 
brandy  or  whisky  was  a  preventive  of  cholera.  In  the  after- 
noon of  the  day  he  was  attacked  with  symptoms  of  the 
disease,  and  having  medicine  in  his  packet  he  took  doses  of 
it  but  grew  worse  rather  than  better.  Becoming  alarmed, 
on  our  arrival  at  a  large  county  town  he  left  the  coach  to 
inquire  if  there  was  a  Catholic  priest  in  the  town.  Learning 
that  there  was  he  bade  me  good-by  and  stopped.  I  never 
heard  of  him  afterwards;  but  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  remem- 
bering that  in  my  travel  with  him  I  had  labored  to  show 


108  LOOKING    BACK    I^ROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

him  the  errors  of  Romanism  and  the  sm  of  using  strong 
drink.  I  think  he  learned  by  experience  that  the  use  of 
liquor  did  not  ward  off  disease.  He  was  a  pleasant  and 
rather  intelligent  young  man.  I  felt  kindly  towards  him, 
and  I  could  not  leave  him  behind  without  a  mental  prayer 
for  his  recovery  and  a  desire  that  he  might  someway  escape 
from  the  awful  influences  of  Roman  teachers.  More  to  be 
pitied  than  blamed  are  those  who  under  the  training  of 
Catholic  mothers  and  Roman  priests  never  learn  a  better 
religion. 

Traveling  da}'  and  night  through  the  prairies  of  Illinois 
and  the  comparatively  new  state  of  Indiana,  and  tired  of  my 
long  stage  ride,  I  was  glad  to  reach  Connersville  and  rest  in 
the  home  of  Father  Patterson  with  the  loved  one  from  whom 
I  had  been  so  long  separated. 

After  a  somewhat  protracted  rest  I  was  oflf  again  to  fulfil 
appointments  in  I^akes  Presbytery.  At  the  fall  meeting  I 
was  sent  first  to  Southfield,  Mich.,  and  afterwards  to 
Cincinnati. 

My  journej'  to  the  former  took  me  from  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
by  lake  steamer  to  Detroit,  Mich.  This  was  the  first  time 
I  had  seen  Lake  Erie  and  my  first  experience  in  travel  on  a 
large  body  of  water.  It  was  autumn,  the  weather  was 
stormy,-  and  I  had  my  first  experience  in  seasickness. 
From  Detroit  to  Birmingham  was  a  new  railroad  whose 
rails  were  of  wrought  iron  and  flat  and  spiked  down  upon 
timbers  extending  lengthwise.  There  were  occasional 
"snake  heads,"  i.  e.  the  ends  of  the  rails  so  bent  that  some- 
times they  would  turn  up  and  enter  a  car  and  endanger  the 
passengers.  The  travel  was  so  slow  that  the  people  were 
complaining.  One  of  the  dissatisfied,  who  said  he  lived 
somewhere  near  the  road,  told  of  one  of  his  neighbors  who 
had  had  some  quarrel  with  the  railroad  company  and  who 
studied  how  he  might  annoy  it.     To  show  how  small  and 


LICENSURE   AND   EVANGELISTIC  WORK.  I09 

insufficient  were  the  engines  and  trains  he  said  that  one  day 
as  a  train  was  passing  up  a  steep  grade  the  farmer  hissed  his 
big  bulldog  upon  the  train,  whereupon  the  animal  ran  out 
and  seized  the  engine  and  held  it  tight  until  he  stopped  the 
train.  Whether  the  narrator  expected  his  hearers  to  believe 
the  story  did  not  appear.  That  was  more  than  forty-five 
years  ago.     In  railroad  travel  a  wonderful  change  has  come. 

Southfield  congregation  was  now  without  a  pastor  because 
of  the  late  resignation  of  Rev.  James  Neill.  From  what 
causes  I  do  not  now  remember  but  the  fact  I  have  not  for- 
gotten that  the  congregation  was  not  in  as  peaceful  condi- 
tion as  was  desirable.  Having  fulfilled  my  appointments  I 
returned  to  Ohio.  At  Detroit  while  waiting  for  a  steamer  I 
lodged  at  a  hotel.  The  time  was  not  lost.  Henry  Bibb,  a 
fugitive  slave,  was  then  residing  in  Winsor  on  the  Canada 
side  opposite  Detroit.  I  had  formed  his  acquaintance  pre- 
viously when  he  was  on  a  lecturing  tour  in  Ohio.  Calling 
at  his  residence  where  he  was  safe  under  the  British  flag, 

"Beneath  whose  folds  no  slave  could  breathe," 
I  found  a  colored  woman  who,  with  some  other  fugitives, 
had  the  night  before  arrived  safe  from  the  land  of  bondage. 
And  yet  such  had  been  her  fear  of  the  bloodhounds  that 
when  she  saw  me,  a  stranger,  she  was  so  afraid  that  Mr. 
Bibb  could  allay  her  fears  only  by  assuring  her  that  his 
visitor  was  a  friend  of  the  slave.  Her  narrative,  like  that 
of  most  of  the  fugitives,  was  one  of  sorrow.  For  a  verifica- 
tion of  this  let  the  doubting  read  William  Still's  great  book, 
"The  Underground  Railroad." 

At  this  time  Henry  Bibb  was  editing  and  publishing  in 
Detroit  an  anti-slavery  paper,  The  Voice  of  Freedom. 
He  accompanied  me  back  to  the  city  and  to  his  office  where 
he  gave  me  a  card  of  invitation  to  a  levee  of  the  colored 
people  that  evening  at  the  Methodist  Church  at  which 
Father  Henson  was  to  be.     There  were  in   the  city  at  that 


no  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

time  two  Scotch  girls,  Covenanters  and  members  of  the 
Southfield  congregation.  They  were  milliners  or  dress- 
makers; their  names  I  have  forgotten.  Telling  Mr.  Bibb  of 
them,  he  requested  me  to  take  them  with  me  to  the  levee. 
I  did  so.  In  the  large  assemblj'  of  colored  people  there  were 
no  white  persons  except  the  three  Covenanters.  The  young 
ladies  were  intelligent  and  cultured,  but  though  they  were 
no  doubt  friends  of  the  negroes  they  had  never  been  at  such 
a  meeting  before  and  "felt  sh)^"  of  the  colored  people.  I 
felt  a  little  mischievous  and  planned  so  as  to  test  their  caste 
feeling  or  prejudice  against  color;  and,  accordingly,  by  the 
help  of  Mr.  Bibb  they  were  introduced  to  several  young  gen- 
tlemen of  manifest  refinement,  while  I,  an  Abolitionist  and 
a  married  man,  was  "at  home"  with  the  "ladies  of  color"  to 
whom  I  had  been  introduced.  So  m}^  young  friends  with 
great  difficult}-  had  to  conquer  their  prejudices,  and  erelong 
they  were  walking  arm  in  arm  with  the  young  men  in  the 
promenade.  They  saw  that  I  enjoyed  the  joke  at  their 
expense;  but  afterwards  I  jocosely  assured  them  that  I  would 
not  tell  on  them  in  Detroit.  Nor  was  it  difficult  to  keep  my 
promise  for  I  knew  no  one  in  the  city,  and  left  it  the  morn- 
ing of  the  second  day  never  to  return. 

At  that  levee  the  most  honored  guest  was  "Father  Ben- 
son," a  somewhat  aged  Methodist  minister  of  great  influence 
among  his  people.  He  was  the  man  after  whom  Mrs.  Stowe 
modeled  her  "Uncle  Tom."  When  the  large  company 
went  to  the  hall  to  partake  of  the  feast  prepared,  and  after 
all  had  taken  their  positions  and  were  standing  at  the  table, 
Father  Benson,  at  the  head  of  the  table,  "asked  the  bless- 
ing." It  was  in  the  form  of  a  verse  of  poetry,  long  meter, 
and  sung  by  the  people  around  the  table  to  the  tune  of  Old 
Hundred,  he  "giving  out  the  lines,"  two  by  two,  and  start- 
ing the  tune.  The  singing  was  such  as  only  colored  people 
can  give. 


LICENSURE    AND    EVANGELISTIC    WORK.  I  1 1 

On  a  previous  page  I  should  have  recorded  the  fact  that 
while  tarrying  in  Southfield  congregation  I  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  some  most  excellent  Covenanter  families  of 
whom  I  have  only  pleasant  memories  but  few  of  whom  I  ever 
met  again.  Probably  it  was  the  last  Sabbath  I  was  there 
that  I  preached  four  times — twice  at  the  usual  hours  at  the 
church,  then  in  the  late  afternoon  at  a  schoolhouse  some- 
where between  Southfield  and  Pontiac,  and  then  in  the 
evening  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  town.  This 
service  had  been  arranged  by  Mr.  McCarroU  who  resided  in 
the  place. 

After  bidding  good-by  to  the  good  Covenanter  Scotch 
girls  in  Detroit,  and  buying  a  copy  of  Henry  Bibb's  "Nar- 
rative of  a  Fugitive  Slave,"  a  very  interesting  book,  I  went 
aboard  the  lake  steamer  bound  for  Sandusky.  Here  I 
entered  the  train  for  Bellecenter.  I  busied  myself  reading 
my  new  book;  and  just  as  I  was  reading  the  last  page  the 
whistle  blew  and  soon  the  conductor  cried  out,  "Belle- 
center."  Here,  as  many  a  time  before,  I  was  happy  in  the 
home  of  my  brother  James  S.  Johnston. 

Where  my  next  appointments  were  I  do  not  now  remem- 
ber, probably  at  Walnut  Creek,  a  mission  station  near 
Columbus,  and  another  near  Xenia  in  whose  vicinity  were 
several  families  of  Covenanters.  Among  these  I  have  a 
grateful  recollection  of  Elder  Foster,  the  honored  father  of 
the  three  Foster  brothers  all  now  active  pastors  of  congre- 
gations as  well  as  earnest  "Testimony  Bearers."  I  remem- 
ber however  that  Presbytery  had  appointed  me  "stated 
supply"  in  Cincinnati  during  most  of  the  winter.  I  was 
glad  of  this  arrangement  as  for  some  time  I  had  purposed  to 
take  special  lessons  in  Hebrew  with  some  superior  Jewish 
teacher  the  first  opportunity  I  could  have. 

According  to  previous  arrangements  I  was  met  here  by 
my  wife,  and  we  were  soon  comfortably  boarded  in  the  home 


112  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNvSET    LAND. 

of  my  friend  Hugh  Glasgow,  brother  of  Klder  Moses  Glas- 
gow and  uncle  of  Re^.  W.  M.  Glasgow  the  present  pastor 
of  Beaver  Falls  congregation. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The    Fugitive   Slave    Law   and    the   Underground 

Railroad. 

While  tarrjang  in  Cincinnati  two  incidents  occurred 
which  are  here  placed  on  record  to  illustrate  the  character  of 
the  times.  In  both  of  them  fugitive  slaves  were  concerned, 
and  my  interest  in  both  was  intensified  because  the  fugi- 
tive-slave law  of  1850  had  been  enacted  recently  by  Con- 
gress. Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  this  law  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  United  States  Constitution,  Article  4,  sec.  2, 
which  required  the  people  of  the  northern  states  to  deliver 
up  to  their  masters  all  slaves  escaping  for  their  freedom,  no 
law  ever  passed  by  Congress  created  so  much  excitement  or 
called  out  so  much  indignation  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of 
the  slave.  With  the  growth  of  anti-slavery  sentiments  in 
the  north  the  number  of  fugitives  increased,  for  many  of  the 
slaves  had  heard — it  was  told  to  them  b}'  some  bird  of  the 
air — not  only  that  they  had  friends  in  the  north  but  that  in 
Canada  they  were  safe  under  the  British  flag.  The  south- 
erners saw  that  among  the  anti-slavery  people  of  the  north- 
ern states  the  United  States  Constitution  was  a  dead  letter. 
The  law  of  God  expressly  declared,  "Thou  shalt  not  deliver 
unto  his  master  the  servant  which  is  escaped  from  his  master 
unto  thee  ;  "  but  the  Constitution  says:  "No  person,  held  to 
service  or  labor  in  one  state  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping 
into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation 
therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall 
be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service 

8  (113) 


114     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE)  SUNSET  LAND. 

or  labor  may  be  due."  (Article  4,  sec.  2,  third  clause.) 
Abolitionists  had  consciences  and  believed  that  it  is  better 
to  obey  God  than  man — better  to  obey  the  divine  law  than 
human  even  if  this  is  a  constitution.  And  so  the  slave- 
holders found  that  oftentimes  the  Constitution  was  onlj'  a 
rope  of  sand  and  therefore  they  asked  for  and  demanded  a 
congressional  law  in  the  execution  of  which  they  would  not 
be  so  liable  to  lose  their  property.  They  demanded  it;  they 
threatened  to  go  out  of  the  Union  if  it  were  not  given.  The 
.south  was  contending  for  the  right  to  take  their  slaves  into 
the  territories  and  new  states.  The  Whigs  of  the  north 
objected  to  this.  The  contest  was  growing  hotter  and 
hotter.  The  troubles  in  Kansas  were  an  illustration  of  it. 
And  so,  to  appease  the  south,  the  politicians  of  the  north,  led 
by  Henry  Clay  and  Daniel  Webster,  gave  them  the  fugitive 
slave  law  and  so  saved  the  Union.  The  law  was  pas.sed  by 
Congress  in  the  summer  of  1850  and  approved  by  President 
Fillmore  September  18,  following. 

Among  the  members  of  the  Cincinnati  congregation  was 
Mr.  John  L,.  McFetridge  whose  residence  or  place  of  busi- 
ness was  in  Covington  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river. 
One  Sabbath,  I  think  at  the  interval  between  the  two  church 
services,  Mr.  McFetridge  came  to  me  to  inform  me  that  in 
Covington  there  were  five  or  six  slaves  who  had  been  brought 
in  from  the  interior  and  were  kept  there  by  the  owner  for  the 
time  until  he  could  find  a  purchaser  or  a  slave-trader  to  buy 
them  for  the  southern  market.  The  slaves  were  living  in 
dread  of  being  sold  for  the  southern  market  where  they  would 
most  likely  be  bought  for  the  rice  or  cotton  or  sugar  plan- 
tations on  which  much  of  the  restless  labor  is  performed 
under  the  overseer's  whip.  To  escape  from  bondage  and 
get  to  Canada  was  the  great  desire  of  the  slaves.  At  Mr. 
McFetridge' s  place  of  business  he  became  acquainted  with 
one  of  the  men,  Patterson   Randall,  a  husband  and  father. 


THE    FUGITIVE   SI^AVE   LAW.  II5 

In  reply  to  Mr.  McFetridge's  questions  he  told  who  and 
what  he  was.  Then  after  he  had  learned  to  have  confidence 
in  Mr.  McFetridge  as  a  friend  of  the  slave,  he  told  how  he 
longed  to  get  away  from  slavery  and  escape  to  a  free  country. 
Mr.  McFetridge,  however,  could  do  little  for  him.  Being 
an  employe,  a  clerk  and  bookkeeper  in  an  extensive  lumber 
yard,  to  whose  proprietor  the  owner  of  the  slaves  had  hired 
out  his  "boy"  Randall  until  he  could  find  a  buyer,  the  book- 
keeper did  not  dare  to  be  known  as  friendl}^  to  the  slave. 
So  at  an  hour  when  he  could  not  be  seen  he  told  Mr.  Randall 
that  he  would  find  a  friend  in  Cincinnati  who  would  help 
him  and  the  others  across  the  river  to  go  to  Canada.  Accord- 
ingly my  friend,  on  the  Sabbath  above  mentioned,  asked  me 
to  come  across  to  Covington  and  he  would  devise  for  me  an 
opportunity  to  have  a  meeting  with  Randall.  On  Monday  I 
went  over  and  after  waiting  awhile  I  succeeded  in  having  an 
unseen  interview  with  Randall  in  which  I  told  him  what  to 
do  and  I  would  see  that  he  and  his  friends  would  all  be  taken 
over  the  river  at  a  specified  time  and  place.  The  time  set  was 
Wednesday  or  Thursday  night,  I  think.  But  before  the 
time  came  Mr.  McFetridge  brought  me  word  that  the  slaves 
could  not  safely  attempt  to  escape  before  Sabbath  night. 
Meanwhile  I  laid  the  whole  matter  before  three  well-known 
friends  of  freedom,  viz.  Hugh  Glasgow,  my  host  (than 
whom  no  truer  friend  of  the  slave  ever  walked  the  streets  of 
Cincinnati),  a  leading  colored  business  man,  and  that  noble 
and  well-known  friend  of  human  rights.  Friend  Levi  Coffin, 
a  Quaker  whose  life  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  slave. 

Carrying  out  the  plan  as  I  had  given  it  to  Mr.  Randall, 
when  Sabbath  night  came — it  was  a  bright  moonlight  night 
when  the  people  were  on  the  streets — Mr.  Glasgow  and  his 
Quaker  friend  went  to  the  river  away  down  below  the  busi- 
ness part  of  the  wharf  and  hired  a  skiff,  rowed  over  to  the 
Kentucky  shore,  and  fastened  the  boat  to  a  timber  raft  where 


Il6  LOOKING    BACK    FROM   THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

I  had  promised  to  have  the  skiff  left  for  them.  But  there 
were  no  fugitives  there.  To  avoid  suspicion  the  two  rescuers 
walked  up  into  the  town  and.  to  and  fro  until  finally  they 
saw  the  expected  five  hurrying  towards  the  boat  and  then 
entering  and  rowing  across.  Then  going  up  to  a  ferry-boat 
the  rescuers  crossed  over  to  look  after  the  boat.  Mean- 
while my  colored  friend  and  I  had  gone  down  to  the  wharf 
where  we  expected  the  fugitives  to  land,  and  there  waited 
for  their  coming.  We  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  soon  we  saw 
the  coming  skifi"  and  Randall  at  the  ores  rowing  as  for  dear 
life  and  liberty.  We  had  selected  a  good  place  to  land  and 
he  rowed  to  us,  and  all  came  ashore.  No  one  was  near 
enough  to  see  who  the  people  were. 

Tying  up  the  boat  that  our  friends  who  had  taken  it  over 
at  first  might  return  and  take  it  to  its  owner,  our  company 
walked  up  one  of  the  principal  thoroughfares  towards  the 
place  where  arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  hiding 
away  of  the  fugitives.  We  the  rescuers  led  and  the  res- 
cued followed,  two  and  two,  at  such  a  distance  that  no  sus- 
picion would  be  excited.  And  probably  we  would  have 
been  successful  if  some  policemen,  in  those  times  always 
watching  for  such  prey,  had  not  noticed  that  one  or  two  of 
the  colored  people,  at  least  the  wife  and  mother,  was  carry- 
ing a  small  bundle  of  clothes  tied  up  in  a  cotton  handkerchief 
slave  fashion.  The  policemen  followed  at  a  short  distance 
and  noticed  into  what  house  the  fugitives  entered.  Then 
one  or  two  of  the  policemen  walked  back  and  forward  on  the 
pavement  as  if  to  see  whether  the  colored  people  would 
remain.  Our  fears  were  so  excited  that  my  colored  friend 
went  out  by  the  back  door  and  alley  and  hastened  to  the 
residence  of  another  anti-slavery  family  to  ask  protection  for 
the  fugitives.  Soon  they  were  quietly  hurried  away  to  the 
new  hiding-place.  Fearing  lest  there  might  be  an  attempt 
to  rescue  the  fugitives,  the  proprietors  of  the  house  procured 


The  fugitive  slave  law.  117 

a  closed  carriage  and  in  the  night  drove  them  out  about  seven 
miles  to  the  first  station  on  the  "underground  railroad"  and 
returned  the  same  night.  Anxious  to  know  if  all  was  well, 
on  Monday  morning  Mr.  Glasgow  and  I  hired  a  horse  and 
buggy  and  rode  out  to  the  hiding-place  of  the  fugitives. 
Riding  up  to  the  front  gate,  Mr.  Glasgow  sent  me  in  to 
make  inquiry,  for  we  were  not  certain  yet  that  we  were  at 
the  proper  place.  The  young  lady  who  admi:ted  me  into  the 
house  and  heard  my  inquiries,  somewhat  cautiously  worded, 
was  even  more  cautious  in  reply  and  was  almost  reticent.  She 
evidently  feared  that  possibly  I  might  be  a  "man  hunter" 
and  she  took  care  not  to  betray  those  who  had  fled  to  her 
for  protection.  Her  conduct  only  convinced  me  that  the 
slaves  were  there.  Politely  asking  me  to  be  seated  until  she 
would  call  her  father  in,  soon  a  farmer,  worthy  of  such  a 
daughter,  entered.  I  plainly  made  known  my  errand  and 
told  him  who  we  were.  He  saw  at  once  that  I  was  an 
Abolitionist  and  told  me  to  ask  my  friend  in.  After  hearing 
our  narrative  the  gentleman  rose  and  said,  "Come  with 
me."  We  followed.  He  took  us  out  to  his  double  corn- 
crib,  a  wagon  shed  being  between  and  a  closed  trap  down 
overhead.  Then  he  brought  a  ladder,  stood  it  up  to  the 
trap  door  and  rapped  on  it  saying,  "Mr.  Randall,  here  are 
some  friends  who  want  to  see  you."  The  door  was  lifted. 
"Follow  me,"  said  the  man  as  he  went  up.  When  I  entered 
I  was  welcomed  and  greeted  most  kindly  and  joyfully.  As 
Mr.  Glasgow  had  not  seen  them  before,  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  introducing  him  to  the  party.  It  consisted  of  Mr. 
Randall,  wife  and  two  children,  and  another  man  whose 
name  I  have  forgotten.  He  and  his  wife  had  been  owned 
by  diiferent  masters.  Having  no  hope  of  securing  her  free- 
dom then,  he  had  fled  in  compan}^  with  Randall  when  he 
had  the  opportu  dty. 

Perhaps  the  reader  will  be  curious  to  know  how  the  slaves 


tiS  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

got  awa}-  from  their  owners.  Thej^  were  Methodists  or 
attended  a  Methodist  Church  while  they  were  in  Covington; 
and  they  wished  or  permitted  their  slaves  to  attend  the 
colored  church  It  was  Sabbath  evening  and  church-time. 
The  master  and  mistress  having  probably  no  suspicion 
whatever  of  the  plans  their  chattels  personnel  were  laying  to 
get  on  the  highwaj-  to  liberty,  left  them  at  home  supposing 
they  would  go  to  church.  As  soon  as  all  the  whites  were 
gone,  Mrs.  Randall  took  her  bundle  of  clothing  out  at  the 
back  door  and  threw  it  over  into  the  back  alley.  Then 
going  out  the  front  waj^  as  if  going  to  church,  and  getting 
her  bundle,  they  all  passed  slowly  along  the  street  but  not 
going  towards  the  river.  When  out  of  the  view  of  those  who 
might  suspect  anything  wrong  they  turned  and  went  to  the 
place  appointed  for  the  departure  of  the  boat.  The  next 
morning  while  the  fugitives  were  resting  in  the  ' '  loft ' '  of 
the  corn-cribs  of  the  .station  agent,  the  master  and  his  pos.se 
were  in  Cincinnati  in  search  of  the  lost  property.  The 
result  the  reader  may  easily  see.  The  fleeing  fugitives  knew 
the  north  star;  they  knew  that  it  pointed  the  way  to  Canada, 
and  their  friends  did  not  cease  to  aid  until  they  were  in  a 
land  where  there  were  neither  bloodhounds  nor  auction 
block  for  the  sale  of  men,  women,  and  children. 

Only  a  few  months  had  passed  since  the  fugitive  slave  law 
had  been  enacted  by  Congress.  But  Ohio  and  the  northern 
states  generally,  after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  had 
been  the  legal  hunting-grounds  of  the  southern  masters. 
Now  that  the  nation  had  said  that  all  who  would  not  obey 
the  Constitution  but  would  lend  aid  to  escaping  slaves  mu.st 
be  punished  with  the  severest  penalties,  the  masters  to  whom 
the  United  States  marshals  had  to  be  the  officers  and  aids  in 
catching  and  returning  fugitives,  became  more  haughty  and 
defiant  than  before.  On  the  other  hand  there  was  less  sym- 
pathy with  masters  w^ho  lost  their  property;  and  the  north 


THE   FUGITIVE  SLAVE   LAW.  I19 

became  more  and  more  ashamed.  The  conflict  became,  as 
William  H.  Seward  had  described  it,  more  and  more  "irre- 
pressible," while  the  cries  of  the  poor  became  more  audible 
to  the  good  people  of  the  north  until  they  became  ashamed 
and  longed  for  an  opportunity  to  break  their  ' '  covenant  with 
death ' '  and  their  ' '  agreement  with  hell. "  In  a  short 
decade  it  came;  and  after  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  had  become 
more  than  a  play  at  arms  Congress  repealed  the  fugitive 
slave  law.  This  was  a  prophetic  forerunner  of  the  speedily 
approaching  Proclamation  of  Universal  Emancipation. 

During  the  winter  I  formed  a  fuller  acquaintance  with 
Friend  Levi  Coffin.  He  was  one  of  the  most  ardent  and 
benevolent  Abolitionists  I  ever  knew,  and  withal  apparently 
a  man  of  quiet  piety.  He  was  a  Friend  but  of  which  branch 
of  the  society  I  do  not  now  remember.  His  business  was 
merchandise  in  free-labor  goods.  He  bought  and  sold  only 
the  products  of  free  labor,  believing  that  the  purchase  of  the 
products  of  slave  labor  was  aiding  and  abetting  slaveholding. 
If  all  the  people  of  the  north  who  believed  slavery  to  be  a 
sin  had  always  acted  in  the  same  manner  cotton  would  not 
have  been  king  so  long  and  the  whole  system  would  have 
gone  down  much  sooner. 

It  was  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  that  at  the  house  of 
lycvi  Coffin  I  metSeth  Conklin,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  on 
his  way  to  Alabama  to  attempt  the  rescue  of  four  slaves,  the 
wife,  two  sons  and  a  daughter  of  Peter  Still  who  had  been  a 
slave  in  Alabama,  but  who  after  long  effort  had  purchased 
his  own  freedom.  He  was  a  brother  of  Mr.  William  Still, 
the  eminent  colored  man  of  Philadelpeia  and  the  author  of 
that  great  book,  "The  Underground  Railroad." 

Peter  Still  and  his  brother  Levin  had  been  kidnapped  from 
New  Jersey  and  sold  into  southern  bondage  when  they  were 
small  boys.  _  Their  mother  never  had  heard  of  them  after- 
wards and  finally  in  her  old  age  had  given  up  all  hope  of  ever 


I20  LOOKING    BACK    P'ROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

seeing  them.  When  Peter  obtained  his  freedom  he  formed 
the  idea  of  the  possibiHty  of  finding  his  mother  in  New  Jerse}- 
or  somewhere,  and  he  resolved  to  make  the  effort.  Coming 
to  Philadelphia  and  making  persevering  search  he  finall}^ 
found  his  mother  neither  of  whom  knew  each  other,  but 
finally  by  circumstances  that  both  remembered  became  cer- 
tain that  they  were  mother  and  son. 

After  consulting  with  his  friends  Peter  Still  determined  to 
secure  the  liberty  of  his  family  if  it  were  possible.  A  man, 
Seth  Concklin,  was  found  who  was  willing  to  go  to  Alabama 
and  make  effort  to  bring  away  the  family  from  the  hou.se  of 
bondage.  He  was  a  laboring  man,  a  boatman  of  some  kind 
in  Philadelphia;  and  his  plan  of  rescue  was  by  means  of  a 
skiff  on  the  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rivers.  To  insure  success 
it  was  necessary  for  Peter  Still  to  return  to  Alabama  to  lay 
the  plans  all  before  his  family  so  that  they  could  cooperate 
with  Seth  Concklin  when  he  would  go  to  help  them  away< 
Accordingly  the  free  husband  and  father  went  back  and  by 
prudent  caution  had  interviews  with  his  wife,  Vina,  and 
informed  her  of  all  the  plans  and  what  .she  would  need  to  do 
so  as  to  meet  Seth  Concklin  and  be  .sure  that  he  was  the  friend 
from  Philadelphia. 

Peter  Still  now  returned  to  Philadelphia  and  told  to  Seth 
Concklin  all  that  had  been  agreed  upon.  Soon  Concklin  was 
on  his  way  to  Florence,  Alu.  Stopping  with  Levi  Coffin  to 
get  htlp  in  his  plans,  and  especially  to  find  some  family  not 
far  from  the  Ohio  River  to  which  he  might  safely  bring  the 
fugitives  and  thence  start  them  on  their  way  to  Canada,  the 
good  Quaker  came  to  ray  lodgings  to  ask  me  to  go  to  see 
Concklin  and  give  him  help.  He  supposed  I  would  know 
some  Covenanters  in  Southern  Indiana  or  Southern  Illinois 
who  could  be  depended  upon  to  protect  the  fugitives  on 
their  arrival.  I  went  and  learned  from  Concklin  his  plans. 
All  I  could  do  was  to  tell  him  of  Princeton  congregation  and 


THE    FUGITIVE   SLAVE   LAW.  12 1 

those  in  Randolph  County,  III.,  both  of  which  were  farther 
from  the  river  than  desiral)le.  After  we  parted  he  went  to 
Southern  Indiana  but  could  fiad  only  one  family  nearer  than 
the  Princeton  Covenanters.  The  result  of  his  efforts 
appears  from  a  few  lines  of  a  letter  written  by  him  to 
William  Still  of  Philadelphia  before  he  left  the  neighbor- 
hood. They  are  as  follows:  "  After  I  arrive  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tennessee  River,  I  will  go  up  the  Ohio  seventy -five 
miles  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  then  up  the  Wabash 
forty-four  miles  to  New  Harmony,  where  I  shall  go  a'^hore 
by  night,  and  go  thirteen  miles  east,  to  Charles  Grier,  a 
farmer  (colored  man),  who  will  entertain  us,  and  next  night 
convey  us  sixteen  miles  to  David  Stormont's  near  Prince- 
ton, who  will  take  the  command  and  I  be  released."  David 
Stormont  was  a  Covenanter  farmer  living  probably  about 
four  or  five  miles  west  of  the  town.  That  letter  was  dated 
at  Princeton,  Feb.  i8,  185 1.  But  neither  Levi  Coffin  nor 
I  had  a-iy  knowledge  of  the  letter  nor  of  Concklin  until 
about  the  first  of  April,  and  under  the  following  circum- 
stances. In  fulfilment  of  Presbyterial  appointments  I  was 
at  Princeton  preaching  two  or  three  Sabbaths  the  latter  part 
of  March  and  the  first  of  April.  Early  in  the  week  before 
my  last  Sabbath  there,  Mr.  David  Stormont  came  to  my 
lodging-place  (Elder  Robert  Stormont's)  and  told  me  that 
Seth  Concklin  and  the  four  escaped  slaves  were  at  his  house 
having  recently  arrived  safely  from  Alabama.  Of  course  I 
accepted  Mr.  Stormont's  invitation  to  ride  with  him  to  see 
his  guests.  They  all  were  well  though  tired  and  sleepy, 
and  all  were  anxious  about  their  safety  as  they  knew  that 
though  they  were  now  in  a  free  state  they  were  not  free 
from  the  danger  of  being  captured  and. taken  back  to  slavery 
again.  They  had  arrived  the  night  before,  having  been 
conducted  by  the  colored  man,  Charles  Grier.  Mr.  Conck- 
lin gave  me  a  warm  welcome  and  was  somewhat   cheerful. 


122     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE;  SUNSET  LAND. 

With  the  others  I  soon  became  acquainted,  though  the  two 
sons  and  the  young  daughter  were  reserved  and  diffident 
having  had  no  other  school  than  the  slave  plantation.  Mrs. 
Still,  "Aunt  Vina,"  was  quite  free  in  conversation.  She 
was  manifestly  a  woman  of  great  natural  ability  and  of  rare 
common  sense.  I  spent  the  day  and  the  evening  with  the 
fugitives  and  their  rescuer  and  from  them  learned  the  whole 
story  of  their  flight  and  journey.  To  me  it  was  intensely 
thrilling,  and  I  am  sure  it  would  be  the  same  to  the  reader 
if  I  could  give  it  at  length  and  with  all  its  incidents  as 
narrated  by  the  fugitives.  All  I  can  do  is  to  give  the 
merest  outline  as  told  to  me  so  that  the  reader  maj'  know 
how  the  escape  was  effected. 

At  Cincinnati  Mr.  Concklin  bought  a  large  skiff"  and  took 
it  with  him  on  board  an  Ohio  steamer  ^nd  afterwards  up 
the  Tennessee  River  to  Florence,  Alabama,  not  far  from 
the  plantation  on  which  the  slaves  were.  Here  under  the 
assumed  name  of  Miller  he  busied  himself  in  inquiring  for 
work  and  representing  that  he  was  a  miller,  as  he  once  had 
been,  he  tried  to  explain  to  the  inquisitive  why  he  had 
brought  a  skiff  with  him.  In  his  meanderings  he  went  to 
the  plantation  and  to  the  shoe-shop  by  the  wayside  where 
one  of  the  slaves  was  the  cobbler  for  the  others.  Concklin 
needed  some  shoe  mending  done  and  thus  he  had  an 
opportunity  and  without  suspicioti  to  obtain  desirable  informa- 
tion as  to  localities,  for  the  time  was  near  when,  according 
to  the  appointment  that  had  been  made  by  Peter  Still  and 
his  wife,  he  must  go  to  visit  her  in  the  night.  When  the 
hour  came  Concklin  was  there  "sharp."  After  waiting  a 
while  in  the  tolerably  dark  night,  a  colored  woman  ap- 
proached quietly  accompanied  by  one  of  her  sons,  (no  doubt) 
timidly.  In  subdued  voices  they  spoke  to  each  other. 
How  could  "Aunt  Vina"  know  that  this  man  was  the  very 
man  that  her  husband  had  sent  from  Philadelphia  to  conduct 


YhE   fugitive   slave   law.  12^ 

her  and  her  cliildren  out  of  the  house  of  bondage?  I  will 
tell  the  reader,  but  in  my  own  words,  as  she  told  me  that 
afternoon  at  the  house  of  David  Stormont.  She  said: 
"When  ray  husband  was  about  to  leave  me  to  go  back  to 
Philadelphia,  I  took  off  the  cotton  cape  I  had  on  and  gave 
it  to  him.  It  had  a  hole  in  one  corner.  I  said,  '  Give  that 
cape  to  the  man  that  is  to  come  for  us  and  tell  him  to  bring 
it  back  to  me,  and  when  I  get  the  cape  and  find  the  hole  in 
it  I'll  be  sure  that  he  is  the  right  man.'  "  And  as  she  told 
me  this  incident  she  went  to  her  bundle  of  clothes  and 
brought  the  cape  and  said  to  me:  "See  there,  sir;  there  is 
the  hole,"  showing  it  to  me;  and  then  she  added  :  "Then 
I  knew  all  was  right  and  I  was  glad." 

Their  interview  was  necessarily  brief.  Concklin  told  the 
woman  what  to  do  and  when  to  bring  the  children  to  join 
him  in  the  boat.  They  came  at  the  appointed  time  and 
place  and  were  soon  rowing  down  the  Tennessee  River. 
When  daylight  came  and  when  they  saw  people  on  the 
shore  who  might  suspect  they  were  fugitives,  these  lay  down 
in  the  boat  so  that  they  could  not  be  seen  from  the  land. 
At  one  place  some  men  on  shore  shouted  to  the  boatman  to 
stop.  He  did  not  obey  the  order  but  rowed  on  the  more 
stoutly.  The  fellows  on  shore  then  fired  guns  at  the  boat, 
but  the  God  of  the  oppressed  preserved  those  in  the  skiff 
from  harm.  Passing  out  into  the  Ohio  and  thereon  up  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  they  rowed  up  this  stream  to 
New  Harmonv  and  then  carried  out  their  plan  as  written  in 
the  letter  to  William  Still  as  quoted  on  a  preceding  page. 

The  night  that  I  lodged  at  Mr.  Stormont's  Mr.  Concklin 
and  I  slept  in  the  same  room  and  conversed  until  a  late  hour 
about  things  in  which  we  both  were  interested,  and  we 
were  not  forgetful  that  the  house  might  be  surrounded  any 
hour  of  the  night  by  a  posse  of  pursuers  of  fugitive  slaves. 

That  was  probably  the  last  time  that  Seth  Concklin  ever 


124  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND. 

slept  on  an  ordinaiy  bed.  The  next  day  duty  called  me 
away  and  I  bade  gOD  1-by  to  the  fugitives  and  their  faithful 
friend  and  guide.  Shortly  afterwards  they  all  were  on  the 
highway  towards  Canada. 

What  happened  after  their  departure  from  Mr.  Stormont's 
was  not  known  except  from  some  unreliable  reports  from 
published  telegrams  and  from  Seth  Concklin's  letter  to  David 
Stormont  written  after  Concklin  had  been  lodged  in  prison. 
Probably  the  reader  may  understand  the  situation  at  this 
time  if  I  here  copy  a  brief  extract  from  a  letter  I  wrote  from 
Evansville,  Iiid.,  to  William  Still  of  Philadelphia  under  the 
date  of  March,  31,   i85i.''- 

"I  think  it  was  twenty-three  miles  above  Vincennes, 
Indiana,  where  they  were  seized  by  a  party  of  men  and 
lodged  in  jail.  Telegraphic  despatches  were  sent  all  through 
the  south.  I  have  since  learned  that  the  marshal  of  Evans- 
ville received  a  despatch  from  Tuscumbia  to  look  out  for 
them.  By  some  means  he  and  the  master,  so  says  report, 
went  to  Vincennes  and  claimed  the  fugitives,  chained  Mr. 
Concklin  and  hurried  all  off.  As  soon  as  he  was  cast  into 
prison  Mr.  Concklin  wrote  to  David  St  rmont  at  Princeton 
to  find  bail.  As  soon  as  he  received  the  letter  and  could 
get  away,  two  of  us  were  about  setting  oflf  to  render  all 
possible  aid,  when  we  were  told  they  all  had  pas.sed  south 
a  few  hours  before  through  Princeton,  Mr.  Concklin  in 
chains.  What  kind  of  process  was  had,  if  any,  I  know 
not.  I  immediately  came  down  to  this  place,  and  learned 
that  they  had  been  put  on  a  steamboat  at  3  p.  m.  I  did 
not  arrive  until  6.  Now  all  hopes  of  their  recovery  are 
gone." 

After  the  letter  from  which  this  is  extracted  was  written, 
additional  facts  were  learned  that  threw  some  light    upon 

*The  reader  may  .see  the  entire  letter  in  Mr.  Still's  ^'Underground 
Railroad. ' ' 


THK    FUGITIVE  SLAVE   LAW.  1 25 

the  dark  tragedies.  I  communicated  some  of  them  to 
William  Still,  and  this  letter  also  he  published  in  his  book 
which  came  out  nearly  twenty  years  afterwards.  I  did  not 
hear  of  the  capture  of  the  fugitives  until  Mr.  Stormont  came 
into  town  and  informed  me  of  the  sad  intelligence.  This 
was  sometime  on  Saturday.  Nothing  could  be  done  for 
the  prisoners  until  after  Sabbath  when  I  was  expected  to 
preach.  Besides,  Mr.  Concklin's  letter  said  that  the  trial 
had  been  fixed  for  Thursday  of  the  week  following.  Ac- 
cordingly we  made  arrangements  to  go  to  Vincenues  as  soon 
as  the  Sabbath  was  over  that  we  might  do  all  in  our  power 
to  rescue  the  captives. 

In  the  Covenanter  Church  of  Princeton  that  was  a  sad 
Sabbath.  Either  in  the  explanation  of  the  psalm  or  in  the 
sermon,  I  spoke  at  length  and  with  deep  feeling  from  the 
fifth  verse  of  the  twelfth  psalm:  "For  the  oppression  of  the 
poor,  for  the  sighing  of  the  needy,  now  will  I  arise,  saith 
the  lyOrd;  I  will  set  him  in  safety  from  him  that  puffeth  at 
[from  them  that  would  enslave]  him."  And  special  prayer 
was  offered  in  behalf  of  those  supposed  to  be  lying  in 
prison  only  because  they  loved  freedom  and  did  not  wish 
to  obey  the  fugitive  slave  law  of  a  slave-holding  nation. 

Harly  on  Monday  morning  Mr.  Stormont  and  I  were 
seated  in  the  buggy  and  the  lines  in  his  hand  ready  to  set 
out  from  Princeton  on  our  errand  of  rescue  as  we  tried  to 
hope;  when  a  friend  hurriedly  came  to  inform  us  that  we 
need  not  go  as,  on  the  day  before,  the  captured  party  had  all 
been  taken  through  the  town  going  south  in  charge  of  the 
United  States  Marshal  from  Evansville  and  accompanied 
by  the  slave-owner,  McKiernon,  from  Alabama.  After- 
wards the  following  facts  were  learned.  The  telegram  that 
had  been  sent  from  Evansville  into  the  south  had  been  read 
by  McKiernan  who  hastened  to  go  for  his  chattels.  Taking 
the  United  States  officer  with  him  from  Evansville  he  hur- 


126  I.OOKING    BACK    FROM    THEJ   SUNSET   I^AND. 

ried  to  Vincennes  and  claimed  his  slaves.  They  were  given 
up  to  him  and  into  the  possession  of  the  Marshal  without 
any  trial  whatever.  The  law  was  obeyed  to  the  letter  and 
the  persons  surrendered  "on  the  claim  of  him  to  whom 
such  service  or  labor  is  due."  Concklin  was  handcuffed  by 
the  Marshal  and  put  into  the  stage-coach  with  the  colored 
people.  Behind  the  coach  rode  in  their  own  carriage  the 
slave-master  and  the  United  States  officer.  They  left 
Vincennes  on  Sabbath  morning  and  reached  Princeton  in 
time  for  dinner.  While  the  master  was  in  the  hotel  eating, 
the  prisoner  was  retained  in  the  stage  under  guard  and 
without  food;  and  then  they  all  hurriedly  drove  on  to 
Evansville. 

What  I  have  here  recorded  occurred  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  Covenanters  and  others  who  were  in  their  several 
churches  at  the  time.  Perhaps  if  the  Abolitionists  had 
known  of  the  presence  of  the  captors  and  the  captured  at 
the  hotel,  they  would  have  attempted  a  rescue.  Sabbath  as 
it  was.  But  from  what  we  were  told  on  Monday  it  was 
probable  that  at  the  very  time  the  Covenanter  preacher  was 
speaking  of  God's  promise  to  the  oppressed  the  slaves  and 
their  friend,  in  manacles,  were  in  or  passing  through  the 
town. 

As  I  was  expected  to  preach  in  St.  L,ouis  the  next  Sabbath, 
and  as  I  believed  it  to  be  my  duty  to  do  everything  possi- 
ble to  prevent  the  dragging  of  the  fugitives  back  into  bonds, 
and  if  possible  to  save  poor  Concklin  from  chains  and  from 
the  awful  fate  that  seemed  to  await  him  if  carried  into  Ala- 
bama by  the  bloodhounds  who  had  caught  him,  I  hastened 
to  take  the  morning  stage  for  Evansville  in  the  hope  that  I 
might  reach  the  city  before  the  departure  of  the  captives 
and  their  captors.  It  was  my  purpose  to  hasten  to  employ 
an  attorney  and  have  writs  issued  for  the  release  of  the  cap- 
tives who  had  been  brought  away  from  Vincennes  without 


THE   FUGITIVE  SLAVE   LAW.  1 27 

any  trial  whatever.  But  I  was  too  late.  Three  hours 
before  my  arrival  all  the  party  had  departed  by  steamboat 
for  Paducah,  a  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  River. 
That  same  night  I  took  the  first  steamer  going  down  the 
river,  and  still  hoping  that  possibly  if  I  could  reach  Paducah 
before  the  departure  of  the  company  I  might  do  something 
for  the  friendless  captives.  Vain  hope!  An  hour  before  my 
arrival  at  Paducah  the  master  and  his  slaves  had  taken  the 
stage  for  Florence,  Ala.  I  could  do  nothing.  But  what  of 
Seth  Concklin  ?  My  boat  was  detained  an  hour  or  two,  so 
that  I  had  time  to  go  ashore  and  make  inquiries  of  some  col- 
ored men,  laborers  on  the  wharf.  They  told  me  what  they 
had  heard  the  people  say,  and  from  what  I  learned  afterwards 
I  believe  they  were  partly  correct,  as  we  will  soon  see.  The 
United  States  Marshal  had  gone  down  to  Paducah  still  hav- 
ing in  his  charge  the  slaves  and  Mr.  Concklin.  The  passage 
was  in  the  night.  The  officer  sat  up  in  guard  of  the  cap- 
tives, Concklin  still  handcuffed.  Report  said  that  after 
the.  boat  landed  at  Paducah  and  while  it  was  yet  night 
the  Marshal  fell  asleep  or  had  asked  McKiernan  to  guard 
his  prisoner  while  he  would  sleep.  It  was  reported,  more- 
over, that  when  the  Marshal  returned  to  where  he  left 
Concklin  the  latter  was  gone.  McKiernan  told  the  officer 
that  while  he  (McKiernan)  was  watching  he  fell  asleep  and 
on  awakening  saw  that  the  manacled  man  was  missing. 
No  one  had  seen  anything  of  him.  When  morning  came 
search  was  made  and  the  dead  body  of  the  man,  yet  in  his 
chains,  was  found  in  the  river.  On  the  side  of  his  head 
was  a  very  severe  wound,  probably  a  broken  skull.  The 
body  was  taken  to  a  sand  bank  on  the  shore,  not  far 
distant,  and  buried  in  his  clothes  and  irons  as  before  death. 
All  kinds  of  conjectures  and  reports  were  afloat.  Having 
learned  all  T  po-sibly  could  in  the  sliort  time  I  had,  I  re- 
turned to  m\  steamer  and  went  on  to  St.  I^ouis.     On  land- 


128  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    I,AND. 

ing  I  hastened  to  find  the  vessel  which  had  brought  the 
fugitives  from  Evansville  to  Paducah  and  sought  an  inter- 
view with  the  officers  to  learn  what  I  could  from  them.  As 
the  boat  was  owned  by  northern  men  I  felt  free  to  converse 
with  the  officers,  though  while  the  boat  lay  at  the  wharf  at 
Paducah  waiting  for  the  morning  nearly  all  the  officers  were 
asleep  except  the  clerk,  so  that  he  was  almost  the  only  one 
that  could  tell  me  anything  reliable.  He  had  seen  nothing 
of  the  parties  after  a  late  hour  of  the  night  until  in  themorn- 
mg  after  the  man  in  irons  was  missing;  but  he  told  me  what 
he  had  seen  and  heard  after  that  time.  Some  of  the  reports 
or  opinions  expressed  was  that  Concklin  (known  by  the 
name  of  Miller)  had  jumped  overboard  to  drown  himself 
rather  than  be  taken  to  Alabama  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
slaveholders  or  southerners.  Another  was  that  he  had 
jumped  into  the  water  in  the  expectation  of  wading  or  swim- 
ing  a--hore  even  though  wearing  heav}'  manacles,  but  that 
in  leaping  to  the  water  he  had  been  struck  accidentally  on  the 
head,  the  blow  causing  death.  A  third  supposition  or  rather 
suspicion  was  that  during  the  short  time  that  Miller  was 
guarded  by  McKiernan,  the  master,  the  latter  had  struck  the 
hated  man  a  fatal  blow  on  the  head  and  then  had  thrown 
him  overboard,  and  that,  to  avoid  suspicion,  in  the  morning 
he  had  told  the  Marshal  that  while  on  guard  he  had  fallen 
asleep  and  that  on  awakening  he  discovered  that  Miller  was 
gone.  Any  of  these  reports  might  have  been  true  as 
Miller  was  kept  upon  the  hurricane  deck  where  no  other 
person  was  at  night  except  his  guard.  But  after  learning 
all  I  could,  and  after  the  friends  of  Seth  Concklin  in  Phila- 
delphia had  sent  a  deputation  to  Paducah  to  ascertain  all 
possible  as  to  his  death  and  burial,  I  regarded  the  last 
opinion  as  the  most  plausible.  The  following  facts  led  to 
this  belief.  It  was  said,  but  on  what  authority  I  do  not  now 
remember,  that  McKiernan  had  promised  to  pay  the  United 


THE    FUGITIVE   SLAVE   LAW.  1 29 

States  Marshal  one  thousand  dollars  on  condition  that  he 
would  return  the  fugitives  and  the  man  Miller  at  South 
Florence,  Ala.  As  at  Paducah  Miller  was  found  dead,  and 
as  the  four  slaves  were  in  the  possession  of  the  master  in  his 
own  state,  he  had  no  more  need  of  the  Marshal  wbo  now 
returned  to  Evansville.  Report  said,  moreover,  that  Mc- 
Kiernan  and  the  Marshal  had  quarreled  about  the  money- 
promised,  the  former  refusing  to  pay  it  because  Miller  was 
not  returned  according  to  contract;  this  probably  had  not 
been  written.  Then  the  supposition  was  inferred,  viz.,  that 
in  order  to  have  revenge  upon  the  man  who  had  taken  away 
his  property,  and  to  get  rid  of  the  payment  of  the  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  he  had  taken  a  bludgeon  or  something  and  had 
struck  the  fatal  blow  upon  the  head  of  Miller  and  then 
threw  him  overboard,  expecting  to  escape  detection  as  all 
were  fast  asleep  and  none  could  testify  to  the  facts  that 
would  condemn  the  murderer. 

The  foregoing  forms  a  long,  dark,  and  sad  page  in  the 
history  of  slavery.  It  illustrates  the  legitimate  working 
of  the  United  States  Constitution  and  the  fugitive  slave  law 
founded  thereon.  The  scenes  in  the  narration  of  which  I 
have  studied  brevity,  tended  to  excite  my  deepest  sympathy 
for  the  sufferers  and  my  intensest  indignation  against  slavery 
if  not  also  against  slaveholders  and  their  allies  including 
the  Constitution  and  its  executors.  Compassion  for  the  op- 
pressed and  almost  rage  against  the  oppressor  were  growing 
into  a  combined  passion  that  had  much  to  do  in  shaping 
my  action  in  subsequent  years.  If  I  sinned  against  my 
fellow-men,  I  hope  I  have  been  forgiven. 

In  the  foregoing  narrative  I  have  confined  my  record 
mostly  to  matters  with  which  I  had  something  to  do  or  of 
which  I  was  cognizant.  If  the  reader  wishes  to  know  the 
whole  story  of  Peter  Still  and  family  he  will  find  it  in 
a  book  entitled  '  'The  Kidnapped  and  the  Ransomed' '  writ- 
9 


130  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

ten  by  Mrs.  Pickard  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  four  or  five  years 
after  the  death  of  Conckhn  and  after  the  wife  and  children  of 
Peter  Still  had  been  purchased  and  brought  to  New  Jersey. 
The  book  is  as  interesting  as  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  and  is 
an  illustration  of  the  old  saying,  "Truth  is  stranger  than 
fiction."  But  as  Mrs.  Pickard's  book  was  written  and 
issued  while  slavery  and  the  fugitive  law  were  yet  popular 
existences  it  was  unsafe  to  publish  all  the  facts.  Prudence 
and  the  safety  of  several  persons  concerned  made  it  necessary 
to  suppress  some  facts.  Besides,  there  are  in  the  book  some 
mistakes,  as  I  know  from  what  Mr.  Concklin  himself  told 
me  in  Mr.  Stormont's  house  and  from  the  testimony  of  the 
ofiicer  of  the  steamer  that  carried  the  fugitives  and  their 
captors  from  Kvansville  to  Paducah.  As  the  book  is  almost 
out  of  print  and  difficult  to  find,  perhaps  I  should  add  here 
that  when  Peter  Still  heard  of  the  capture  and  return  of  his 
family  he  was  heart-broken  at  first  but  subsequently  rallied 
and  determined  to  save  them  from  the  prison-house  to  which 
they  had  been  dragged  back  b}^  the  master  aided  by  the 
United  States  Government.  Visiting  Cincinnati  and  obtain- 
ing counsel  and  help  from  Levi  Coffin,  Hon.  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  and  others,  he  finally  succeeded  in  engaging  an 
agent  who  went  to  Alabama  and  negotiated  for  the  purchase 
of  his  wife  and  children  at  a  specified  price  and  probably 
less  than  the  owner  would  have  taken  if  they  had  never 
tasted  the  sweets  of  freedom.  Peter  returned  to  the  east,  and 
traveled  far  and  near  to  find  Abolitionists  to  contribute 
to  the  fund  necessary  to  bu}^  his  famil3\  When  the  thou- 
sands were  raised  he  employed  an  attorney  to  go  to  Alabama 
to  pay  the  promised  ransom  fees  and  secure  the  legal  papers 
to  make  the  contract  sure.  Their  freedom  secured,  they 
were  brought  to  New  Jersey  where  Peter  had  a  home  pre- 
pared for  his  happy  family.  The  children  were  educated, 
and  Aunt  Vuia  lived  to  see  them  in  happy  homes  of  their 
own. 


THE   FUGITIVE   SI.AVE    LAW.  I3I 

Prior  to  the  events  recorded  of  vSeth  Concklin  I  had  not 
seen  Mr.  Willian  Still  of  Philadelphia  with  whom  I  had  had 
letter  correspondence,  but  subquently  I  met  him  and  formed 
an  intimate  acquaintance  that  grew  into  warm  friendship 
that  has  grown  to  this  day.  The  reader  will  hear  of  him  on 
these  pages  again. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Licentiate's  Work  and  Jottings. 

During  my  stay  in  Illinois  Presbytery  fulfilling  my 
appointments  mostly  at  Princeton  and  St.  lyOiiis,  I  was 
invited  to  assist  at  the  spring  communions  in  the  congrega- 
tions of  Elkhorn  and  Old  Bethel,  Rev.  William  Sloane  and 
Rev.  James  Wallace  the  pastors.  As  the  former  had  been 
my  first  pastor  I  was  somewhat?  anxious  to  be  able  to  preach 
acceptably;  and  it  was  the  first  time  I  had  been  invited  to 
assist  on  a  sacramental  occasion.  As  Rev.  Mr.  Wallace  also 
was  assisting,  I  did  not  preach  until  Saturday.  Mrs.  Sloane, 
my  mother's  beloved  friend  during  many  long  years,  was 
sitting  in  the  pastor's  pew  near  the  pulpit  while  I  preached 
from  that  sweet  text,  "Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and 
come  away."  At  the  close  of  the  service  when  I  went  down 
to  meet  and  to  speak  to  her,  she  rose  and  taking  my  hand 
said:  "I  am  so  happy!  I  sympathized  with  you,  and  I  was 
afraid  you  might  fail;  but  oh!  you  preached  so  well." 
Whether  her  loving  plainness  was  more  useful  than  harmful 
to  the  licentiate,  I  am  not  sure;  but  this  much  I  know,  that 
the  kind  words  of  that  most  excellent  woman  whom  as  her 
pastor's  wife  my  mother  loved  so  much,  helped  me  when  I 
was  afraid  I  was  not  fit  to  preach  at  all.  Among  all  the 
good  and  lovelj^  women  of  faith  and  good  works  whom  I 
have  ever  known,  Mrs.  Sloane,  it  now  .seems  to  me,  was 
among  the  best.  And  she  was  a  model  wife  and  a  model 
mother.  How  much  her  children,  one  of  whom  was  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane,  owed  to  her  for  what  they  were  no  man 
can  tell. 

(132) 


THE    licentiate's  WORE:   AND  JOTTINGS.  I33 

On  Sabbath  the  "action  sermon"  by  the  pastor  was  wor- 
thy of  a  great  theologian.  Well  do  I  remember  the  text: 
"The  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should  follow." 
It  was,  indeed,  a  great  sermon,  and  yet  it  was  spoken  with 
little  modulation  of  voice  as  in  what  people  call  eloquence, 
and  without  gestures.  His  eloquence  was  in  the  greatness 
of  the  truths  uttered  and  in  the  solemnity  of  the  expression. 

On  Sabbath  evening  after  the  services  were  over  I  was 
invited  to  lodge  with  the  family  of  "old  John  McClurkin," 
the  father  of  the  two  preachers,  J.  J.  and  H.  P.  An  incident 
not  forgotten  illustrates  the  character  of  ihe  old  elder  so 
well  known  in  the  church.  In  the  evening  when  the  time 
for  family  catechising  came,  and  when  all  the  family,  includ- 
ing several  young  men  and,  if  I  do  not  forget,  some  daugh- 
ters also,  were  seated  ready  to  "say  the  catechism"  and  to 
be  questioned  in  its  theology  according  to  the  common  cus- 
tom in  Covenanter  families,  the  venerable  head  of  the  family 
said  to  me,  "Now,  Mr.  Johnston,  we  are  all  ready.  You 
will  please  ask  the  questions  and  be  our  teacher,"  at  the 
same  time  handing  me  a  copy  of  the  shorter  catechism.  I 
begged  to  be  excused  saying  that  I  would  rather  be  a  pupil 
under  him  than  to  attempt  to  teach  such  a  large  family  of 
adults.  He  replied,  "No,  I  wish  you  to  ask  the  questions, 
for  our  pastor  is  getting  old  and  we  will  need  another  after 
a  little,  and  I  want  to  see  what  kind  of  a  teacher  you  are." 
Hoping  that  in  such  embarrassing  circumstances  I  had  the 
sympathy  of  the  family  if  not  of  the  elder  and  father,  I  went 
at  the  assigned  duty  as  well  as  I  could.  Whether  he 
adjudged  me  to  be  fit  for  his  next  pastor,  I  was  not  careful 
to  inquire. 

That  "old  John  McClurkin"  was  no  ordinary  man.  Though 
not  always  wise  he  was  worthy  of  all  honor.  He  was  one 
of  a  large  number  of  Covenanters,  mostly  heads  of  families, 
who  on  account  of  slavery  fled  from  South   Carolina  and 


134  LOOKING   BACK    PROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

sought  new  homes  in  southern  Illinois  and  southern  Indiana, 
The  early  Covenanter  congregations  in  these  states  had  their 
origin  in  such  immigration,  men  and  women  who  loved  the 
truth  and  the  right  and  were  able  to  defend  them.  Their 
numerous  descendants,  though  not  all  Covenanters  now, 
may  well  be  proud  of  such  ancestors.  They  loved  liberty 
and  the  slave  more  than  their  southern  plantations. 

The  following  Sabbath  Father  Sloane  and  I  assisted  Rev. 
James  Wallace  at  his  communion  in  Old  Bethel.  During 
both  those  occasions  I  am  sure  I  was  profited  by  my  associ- 
ation with  the  pastors  and  their  people;  and  to  this  day 
those  two  Covenanter  seasons  are  cherished  in  grateful 
memory.  Nor  can  I  forget  that  during  my  stay  in  St.  Louis 
I  was  most  kindly  provided  for  by  Mrs.  Armour  and  family. 
It  was  for  the  time  as  a  home  among  friends  chief  of  whom 
was  my  brother  J.  M.  Armour  soon  to  be  ready  for  licensure. 
When  I  left  the  city,  that  we  might  prolong  our  visit  he 
accompanied  me  to  southern  Illinois,  and  during  the  week 
of  my  stay  at  Old  Bethel,  his  former  home,  we  were  much 
together  and  ate  communion  bread  together.  Already  a 
threefold  cord  bound  us  together. 

The  Monday  services  being  over  I  joined  the  company  of 
the  ministers  and  their  elders  who  were  starting  to  Pittsburg 
to  attend  the  approaching  meeting  of  Synod.  On  our  way 
to  Chester  on  the  Mississippi  River  where  we  were  to  take 
a  steamboat  for  Pittsburg,  we  lodged  Monday  night  with  a 
Covenanter  family.  Our  host  told  us  an  incident  illustrative 
of  the  character  of  old  Dr.  James  Milligan,  former  pastor  at 
Eden.  He  was  lodging  one  night  in  the  same  family  and 
expected  to  depart  on  his  journey  early  in  the  morning. 
Before  retiring  he  asked  the  lady  of  the  house  to  leave  some 
water  where  he  could  get  it  in  the  morning  as  he  would 
need  to  shave.  He  rose  in  the  morning  before  daylight 
while  all  others  were  fast  asleep  and  shaved  himself.     After 


The;  IvICEntiate's  work  and  jottings.  I35 

all  were  up  and  the  lady  had  her  teakettle  full  of  hot  water, 
she  said  to  Dr.  Milligan:  "I  have  the  hot  water  for  you  now 
if  you  want  to  shave."  "Thank  you,  madam,  I  have 
attended  to  that  matter  already."  "O,  yes,  I  see;  but 
where  did  you  find  a  looking-glass?"  "O,  I  went  out-of- 
doors  and  just  looked  up  into  the  full  moon.  It  was  a  good 
mirror." 

On  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  at  Chester  we  found  others 
going  to  Synod.  One  of  them  was  licentiate  J.  J.  Mc- 
Clurkin.  On  the  voyage  up  the  Ohio  he  was  sick.  As  I 
was  the  younger  and  well,  I  was  able  to  give  whatever 
nursing  he  needed.  This  was  our  first  acquaintance.  Ever 
afterwards  we  have  been  friends  and  brothers.  During  all 
his  long  life  he  has  ever  been  a  lovely  Christian,  a  genuine 
Covenanter,  and  an  Israelite  in  whom  there  is  no  guile. 

One  evening  we  held  divine  service  in  the  cabin  in  the 
steamer.  Father  Sloane  was  the  preacher.  Strange  to  say 
that  though  most  of  the  people  present  needed  the  pure 
gospel  and  a  call  to  repentance,  he  preached  from  the  text, 
Obediah  17,  "The  house  of  Jacob  shall  possess  their  posses- 
sions," discussing  the  question  of  the  return  of  the  Jev\s  to 
Palestine.      "Great  men  are  not  always  wise." 

At  Steubenville  Father  Sloane  and  I  left  the  steamer  and 
our  friends,  he  going  out  to  Richmond  to  visit  his  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Hugh  McNiece,  the  only  Covenanter  in  the 
town,  while  I  stopped  in  Steubenville  and,  on  invitation  of 
the  few  Covenanters  there,  preached  in  the  house  of  a  Mr. 
James  Steele  afterwards  a  resident  of  Belle  Center,  Ohio,  and 
whose  daughter,  Mrs.  Nannie  McClure,  is  now  in  Tennessee 
a  missionary  to  the  "poor  mountain  whites."*  Some  of  the 
school-girls,  formerly  my  pupils  in  the  St.  Clairsville  Acad- 
emy but  now  in  the  old  and  popular  Steubenville  Seminary, 

*  Since  that  sentence  was  written  Mrs.  McClure  has  passed  over  to 
the  other  side  where  there  are  no  poor. 


136  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

were  among  the  hearers.  One  of  thera  was  Mary  Happer, 
a  niece  of  Rev.  Dr.  Happer  long  a  missionary  in  Canton, 
China. 

On  Monday  Mr.  Sloane  and  I  joined  each  other  as  fellow- 
travelers  by  stage-coach  from  Steubenville  to  Pittsburg.  It 
was  mine  to  enjoy  a  great  privilege,  "a  rare  treat. "  Rarely 
if  ever  have  I  found  a  traveling  companion  so  entertaining 
and  so  profitable  During  Synod  we  lodged  together  in  the 
family  of  that  dear  blind  old  lad}',  Mrs.  Algeo,  the  mother 
of  Mrs.  C.  A.  Oudry  yet  resident  in  Allegheny  and  inherit- 
ing the  excellencies  of  her  mother  long  since  gone  to  the 
home  where  there  are  no  blind  mothers  and  to  that  city  in 
which  '  'the  lyamb  is  the  light  thereof. ' ' 

At  that  meeting  of  Synod  I  was  assigned  to  New  York 
Presbytery  for  at  least  six  months.  At  that  time  the  New 
England  states  as  well  as  the  congregations  in  Philadelphia 
Presbytery  were  all  included  in  the  Presbytery  of  New  York. 
My  first  appointments  were  in  the  Kensington  Mission  con- 
gregation now  called  the  third  Philadelphia  Church.  During 
part  of  the  time  that  I  remained  in  Kensington  I  was  most 
kindly  lodged  in  the  famil}-  of  Robert  Paisley.  In  subse- 
quent years  they  were  always  very  warm  friends  of  their 
first  pastor,  Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan,  whom  they  followed  when 
he  went  to  New  Alexandria  and  subsequentl}^  to  Pittsburg. 
Such  devotion  to  the  pastor  is  as  rare  as  it  is  beautiful. 

I  had  not  been  in  Philadelphia  long  until  I  hastened  to 
hunt  up  William  Still  with  whom  I  had  had  correspondence 
with  reference  to  Seth  Concklin  and  Peter  Still  and  family, 
but  whom  I  had  never  seen.  I  found  him  in  the  office  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Anti-slavery  Society  where  he  officiated  as  clerk 
of  the  state  society  that  published  the  Pennsylvania  Freeman. 
It  did  not  take  long  for  us  to  get  acquainted;  indeed  we 
were  friends  already.  At  this  time  Mr.  Still  was  very  active 
in   the  work   of  the  underground  railroad.      Many  fugitive 


THE   licentiate's   WORK    AND  JOTTINGS.  1 37 

slaves  came  to  Philadelphia,  were  harbored,  and  then  sent 
on  to  Canada.  He  made  records  of  the  narratives  of  the 
fugitives;  and  these  afterwards  formed  a  large  part  of  his 
wonderful  book  published  after  emancipation. 

My  next  appointments  took  me  to  Argyle,  New  York, 
where  I  preached  I  think  only  two  Sabbaths  and  lodged 
most  of  the  time  with  Mr.  William  Shaw  of  whose  family  I 
have  a  very  pleasant  recollection.  On  his  farm  was  the  first 
abundance  of  wild  or  uncultivated  raspberries  I  had  ever 
seen.  They  abound  in  northern  New  York  and  in  Vermont 
and  are  freely  used  by  nearly  all  the  people.  They  are  supe- 
rior to  the  cultivated  fruit. 

In  obedience  to  Presbytery  I  went  from  Argyle  to  Top- 
sham,  Vermont.  The  journey  thence  was  by  railroad  to 
Whitehall  at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  then  by 
steamer  to  Burlington  in  Vermont.  I  greatly  admired  the 
beautiful  lake  and  the  distant  Green  Mountains.  At  the 
dinner  furnished  for  the  passengers  of  the  steamer  I  ate  for 
the  first  time  of  lake  trout,  and  I  greatly  relished  the  fish. 
Except  the  brook  trout  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  no 
fish  is  more  desirable. 

From  Burlington  to  Montpelier,  Vermont,  the  capital  of  the 
state,  I  traveled  by  rail  up  the  Winooski  or  Onion  River 
which  passes  through  a  gorge  of  the  Green  Mountains.  On 
the  south.  Camel's  Hump  was  visible  and  near,  and  on  the 
north  the  Mansfield  Mountains,  the  highest  part  of  the 
range.  The  scenery  in  this  part  of  my  journey  was  the 
finest  I  had  ever  seen;  and  as  it  was  mid-summer,  I  was 
charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  country  as  well  as  with  the 
grandeur  of  the  .scenery.  This  was  my  first  experience  in 
traveling  in  a  mountainous  country  and  it  brought  me  into  a 
new  school  in  which  I  reveled  in  delight  and  learned  more 
and  more  to  enjoy  the  picturesque  and  the  grand. 

I  lodged  that  night  in  Montpelier  and  in  the  morning  took 


138  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

the  stage-coach  for  Topshaui.  This  took  me  over  the  east- 
ern spur  of  the  Green  Mountains  from  the  highest  part  of 
which  the  traveler  has  a  fine  view  of  the  main  range  on  the 
west  through  which  I  had  passed  the  day  before.  This 
stage  ride  was  the  most  inspiring  I  had  ever  enjoyed.  As 
I  passed  down  the  eastern  slope,  riding  outside  with  the 
driver,  I  felt  a  conscious  desire  that  it  might  be  the  will  of  the 
Head  of  the  church  to  permit  me  to  live  and  labor  in  that 
beautiful  state.  To  such  a  desire  I  had  been  a  stranger 
before. 

Coming  within  the  bounds  of  the  congregation  I  easily 
found  my  way  to  the  house  of  John  McNiece,  oldest  son  of 
Elder  Robert  McNiece  the  father-in-law  of  my  first  pastor, 
Rev.  William  Sloane,  and  grandfather  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  R.  \V. 
Sloane.  In  going  first  to  this  family  I  followed  the  direc- 
tions of  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  supplies  at  New 
York,  and  because  the  house  was  the  nearest  to  the  stage 
road  over  which  I  had  traveled.  And  it  seemed  strange  that 
the  first  famil}^  that  I  met  in  this  place  where  all  were 
strangers  was  so  intimately  connected  with  those  whom  I 
had  known  and  loved  in  my  bo37hood.  John  McNiece,  my 
host,  was  a  brother  of  my  mother's  most  loving  friend,  Mrs. 
Sloane,  her  pastor's  wife. 

In  Topsham  I  was  among  New  Englanders.  It  was  the 
first  time  I  had  been  appointed  to  preach  to  Yankee  Cove- 
nanters; and  I  was  a  stranger  to  all  the  people.  At  that 
time  I  could  have  no  knowledge  of  the  will  of  the  Head  of 
the  church,  and  so  I  went  there  as  I  had  gone  to  other 
places  to  fulfil  my  appointments  and  depart  without  any 
right  to  expect  ever  to  be  back  again.  My  appointments 
kept  me  there  four  Sabbaths  in  August,  1851. 

The  last  pastor  of  the  congregation  was  Rev.  William 
Sloane.  Twenty-five  3'eai^  had  passed  .since  his  departure. 
This   would   be   seven  5^ears   before   the   division  of   1833. 


THE   licentiate's   WORK   AND  JOTTINGS.  1 39 

During  all  this  quarter  of  a  century  the  congregation  had 
depended  upon  supplies  and  had  remained  true  to  the  old 
Covenanter  Church  and  her  Lord.  The  membership  had 
become  reduced  and  had  not  been  as  active  as  is  desirable  in 
doing  the  work  that  even  feeble  congregations  can  do;  but 
the  remnant  continued  faithful  to  the  distinctive  principles 
of  the  church  and  God  had  blessed  them  in  their  faithfulness. 
The  men  were  few  in  number,  the  women  constituting  more 
than  two-thirds  of  the  entire  membership. 

During  my  stay  in  Topsham  I  was  taken  to  see  some  of 
the  leading  families,  though  I  lodged  mostly  with  two,  that 
of  John  McNiece  and  that  of  Elder  Josiah  Divoll. 

By  invitation  I  gave  an  anti -slavery  lecture  at  Ryegate 
Corners  to  a  very  large  audience  mostly  Covenanters  and 
old  Seceders,  and  one  at  East  Corinth  on  the  subject. 

The  pulpit  themes  and  the  attendance  had  almost  passed 
from  memory  until  recently  when  I  was  looking  over  my 
private  diary.  A  few  extracts  will  illustrate  how  my  mind 
worked  at  the  time.  On  the  afternoon  of  my  arrival,  Tues- 
day August  5,  among  other  things:  "Am  far  from  home  and 
friends.  What  God  intends  to  make  the  result  of  my  labors 
here,  I  know  not.  If  he  cause  sinners  to  be  converted  and 
his  kingdom  to  be  advanced,  I  will  endeavor  to  trust  in  him 
and  detain  patiently  until  my  appointments  are  fulfilled." 
After  the  first  Sabbath:  "Preached  to  a  large  congregation. 
I  think  two-thirds  or  three-fourths  of  the  people  were  women, 
many  of  them  young.  It  was  the  most  interesting  congre- 
gation to  which  I  have  preached  as  yet.  Paraphrased  the 
psalm  and  lectured  in  order.  In  the  afternoon  I  preached  on 
the  humiliation  of  Christ.  Most  of  the  audience  gave  very 
good  attention,  a  few  were  in  tears,  while  some  gave  evidence 
of  utter  indifference.  O  that  God  would  give  me  more 
compassion  for  sinners!  " 

"Monday,  August  i8.     Preached  in  the  same  church  as 


140  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

ou  the  pieceding  Sabbath  but  to  a  LOiigregation  r.ot  so  large, 
as  a  New  L/iglit  Covenanter  minister  preached  in  another 
house  (the  town  hall)  not  far  distant.  Satan  seems  deter- 
mined to  give  our  people  here  .some  trouble  from  this  quarter. 
Lectured  in  course  from  Eph.  4:14-16.  Preached  in  the 
P.  M.  with  some  freedom  and  I  hope  profit  from  'To  the 
blood  of  sprinkling  that  .speaks  better  things  than  the  blood 
of  Abel.'  " 

"Wednesday  20.  L-'dging  with  Mr.  P.,  a  kind  of  liberal 
Yankee  Covenanter  who,  I  guess,  would  as  lief  be  a  New 
Light.  No  particular  care  about  our  distinctive  principles. 
Takes  neither  the  Covenanter  nor  the  Reformed  Presbyteriaji 
and  knows  nothing  about  the  doings  of  the  church  except 
a  little  from  hearsa3\" 

After  the  third  Sabbath  I  find  the  following  entry: 
"Preached  in  the  afternoon  to  a  large  and  attentive  congre- 
gation from  the  text:  'Shall  the  throne  of  iniquity  have  fel- 
lowship with  thee,'  etc.  Endeavoring  to  be  faithful  to 
King  Jesus,  I  know  I  said  much  to  displease  his  enemies. 
Some  I  suppose  would  have  gnashed  their  teeth  up(<n  me. 
Even  some  Covenanters,  I  think,  would  have  been  better 
pleased  had  I  preached  'smooth  things'  and  sentiments 
more  popular.  But  by  divine  grace,  while  permitted  to 
speak  for  Christ  I  will  utter  the  whole  truth  regarding  his 
kingly  office  and  the  wickedness  of  ungodly  civil  govern- 
ments, let  men  hear  or  forbear — let  Covenanters  be  pleased 
.  or  displeased — endeavoring  to  rise  above  the  fear  of  man 
which  bringeth  a  snare.  Let  my  great  concern  be  to  see 
that  the  King  whose  rights  I  plead  rule  in  my  heart." 

In  reference  to  the  fourth  Sabbath,  August  31,1  find  this 
among  other  things:  "Preached  in  the  forenoon  on  Gideon's 
victory.  I  feel  and  confess  that. I  was  left  to  myself,  and,  as 
it  seemed  to  me,  I  was  scarcely  able  to  utter  a  well -formed 
sentence.     How  justly  am   I  thus   chastised   for   my   sin. 


THE   IvICENTlATE'S   WORK   AND  JOTTINGS.  I4I 

Besides  great  bodily  weakness,  I  felt  so  depressed  in  spirits 
that  I  was  near  sitting  down  in  silence.  In  the  afternoon  I 
was  helped  to  speak  with  more  freedom  and  I  hope  with 
more  profit.  In  the  forenoon  I  preached  myself- — ^in  the 
afternoon  I  preached  Christ  from  Prov.  8:17,  "Those  that 
seek  me  early  shall  find  me."  In  preaching  this  sermon  I 
was  greatly  encouraged  and  fully  repaid  for  all  my  study 
and  toil  for  the  work  to  which  I  have  devoted  myself.  Not 
a  few  of  the  congregation,  especially  of  the  young,  were 
bathed  in  tears.  Throughout  the  sermon  I  appealed  to  sin- 
ners especially  to  youth  and  to  parents.  My  labor  seemed 
not  to  be  in  vain.  To  see  evidences  that  conviction  is  being 
wrought  and  that  the  heart  is  aiFected  under  preaching, 
gives  courage  to  hold  on.  To  be  the  means  of  saving  if  but 
one  soul  is  reward  sufficient  to  repay  for  all  I  have  done  or 
can  do  or  may  suffer.  A  tear  from  a  hearer  is  like  an  oasis 
in  the  desert;  many  tears  give  joy  inexpressible.  I  praise 
God  that  I  have  had  this  token  for  good.  lyord  Jesus,  may 
this  be  but  the  first  ripe  fruits  of  a  rich  harvest." 

It  is  now  nearly  forty-six  years  since  those  words  were 
written.  They  were  not  intended  for  the  public  eye;  and  if 
I  were  permitted  to  write  the  sentiments  over  again  I  would 
do  it  in  very  different  terms,  perhaps.  I  give  them  here 
only  to  show  the  frame  of  mind  I  was  in  then  when  I  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  future.  They  were  not  prophetic,  for 
I  do  not  know  that  many  conversions  resulted  from  my  sub- 
sequent preaching  in  Topsham.  When  those  records  were 
made  I  did  not  expect  ever  to  be  there  again.  I  had  no 
right  to  expect  it  for  I  did  not  know  that  any  member  of 
the  congregation  had  any  thought  of  my  being  called  as 
pastor  at  any  future  time.  Indeed,  the  congregation  was  so 
reduced  in  members  and  so  feeble  that  it  did  not  seem  possi- 
ble for  them  to  support  a  pastor.  And  yet  I  remember  how 
delighted   I  was  with   the  country  and  how  much  I  liked 


142  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK   SUNSET    LAND. 

many  of  the  people.  And  if  I  do  not  forget  it  was  the  first 
place  I  had  preached  in  which  I  thought  I  would  like  to 
live  and  labor.  But  I  thought  little  about  the  probabilit}^ 
of  my  ever  being  settled  in  the  Topsham  congregation. 
Never  was  a  word  spoken  to  me  by  any  person  in  the  con- 
gregation or  place  by  way  of  inquiry  as  to  whether  I  would 
like  to  be  the  pastor;  nor  subsequently  was  ever  a  word 
written.  I  knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  mind  of  the  peo- 
ple until  the  winter  following.  But  who  can  doubt  that  the 
Head  of  the  church,  the  Shepherd  of  Israel,  had  determined 
what  would  be.  His  purposes  were  all  formed.  To  me 
they  were  all  unknown.  It  is  well  that  he  chooses  our  lot 
for  us.     He  doeth  all  things  well. 

On  Monday  afternoon,  September  i,  I  bade  farewell  to 
many  friends  and  took  the  stage  for  Montpelier,  starting 
back  to  Argyle  again  where  I  had  an  appointment.  I 
remained  only  one  Sabbath.  The  friends  then  wished  me 
to  give  an  anti-slavery  lecture  before  I  would  depart,  and 
they  asked  the  use  of  one  of  the  churches  in  the  town,  and 
then  another.  Both  refused  to  give  their  houses  for  the 
purpose.  One  was  the  Associate  Reformed  Church;  the 
other  the  Methodist.  The  Covenanters,  however,  resolved 
not  to  give  it  up  and  appointed  the  lecture  in  their  own  old 
house  of  worship  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 

The  audience  was  not  large  but  some  pro-slavery  people 
were  there.  One  of  them  interrupted  the  speaker  several 
times  by  asking  questions.  The  answers  could  not  have 
been  satisfactory  to  him  for  as  soon  as  I  had  closed  the 
lecture,  which  was  very  radical  I  suppose  (I  was  not  glad 
that  the  churches  had  been  closed  against  me)  he  rose  and 
began  to  make  a  speech.  The  people  did  not  care  to  hear 
him  and  so  rose  and  departed.  His  speech  was  short  for 
want  of  hearers. 

Some  of  the  Covenanters  feared  disturbance;  and  as  the 


THE    licentiate's    WORK    AND   JOTTINGS.  1 43 

good  elder  drove  me  away  towards  his  home  he  put  the 
whip  to  his  horse  lest  some  fellows  might  follow  to  do  harm. 
I  thought  his  fears  groundless  and  I  lost  no  sleep  that  night. 

In  reflecting  upon  my  two  visits  to  Argyle  congregation, 
which  afterwards  was  called  West  Hebron  where  their  new 
church  was  built,  I  remembered  I  found  there  an  excellent 
people,  few  in  number  but  well  to  do  and  faithful  Cov- 
enanters. Until  I  was  reading  in  my  diary  recently  I  had 
forgotten  that  I  had  brought  away  from  that  old  place  any- 
thing but  pleasant  memories.  I  now  read  two  that  as 
recorded  then  may  show  that  the  Buckeye  probationer  had 
not  attained  to  perfection.  The  one  reads  thus:  "Saturday, 
Sept.  6.  Last  night  I  had  very  little  comfortable  sleep. 
Those  horrible  animals  annoyed  me  most  inhumanly.  Un- 
able to  endure  it  any  longer,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
I  rose,  lit  my  candle,  and  made  war  upon  my  enemies,  slay- 
ing not  exactly  'my  ten  thousands; '  but  much  blood  was 
spilled  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  not  a  few  were  put  to  flight. 
Still,  however,  the  skirmishers  returned  and  annoyed  me 
sorely  leaving  many  wounds.  When  daylight  came  they 
seemed  to  flee  into  their  dens  or  hiding  retreats,  and  I  was 
hoping  for  some  sleep  when  I  was  summoned  to  breakfast." 
I  could  have  forgotten  the  battle  if  it  had  not  been  that  in 
the  family,  well  to  do  on  a  large  farm,  there  were  two  able- 
bodied  young  women  who  might  have  known,  if  they  did 
not,  that  in  the  preacher's  bed  there  were  blood-thirsty 
enemies  of  Morpheus.  But  perhaps  they  had  not  read  the 
classical(?)  author  who  wrote:  "Blessed  be  the  man  that 
invented  sleep." 

The  other  record  runs  thus:  "Tuesday  9.  Rose  at  five, 
had  a  cup  of  tea"  (in  those  days  I  was  yet  an  anti-hygienic 
transgressor)  "and  rode  to  Dunham's  Basin  to  take  the 
train.  Elder  Shaw,  who  came  with  me  and  whom  I  regard 
as  the  best  man  in  the  congregation,  handed  me  four  dollars 


144  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

and  seventy-five  cents  and  said  he  hoped  I  would  Couie  back 
into  the  Presbytery  again  because  they  had  not  paid  me  all 
that  was  due,  and  they  would  like  to  have  a  chance  to  pay 
me  the  balance."     I  never  was  at  Argyle  again. 

On  my  way  to  Newburgh  I  stopped  over  one  train  at  Sar- 
atoga to  visit  the  mineral  springs  that  have  made  it  one  of 
the  most  fashionable  "watering-places"  on  the  continent. 
That  the  water  of  any  of  the  springs  has  any  medicinal 
properties  is  very  doubtful.  No  water  is  so  pure  or  so 
healthful  as  what  falls  from  the  clouds,  or  spring  water  free 
from  all  foreign  mineral  substances.  If  anybody  is  benefited 
by  drinking  Saratoga  Spring  water  probably  it  is  by  its  sub- 
stitution for  alcoholic  drinks,  or  coffee,  or  tea,  the  use  of  all 
which  is  alwaj'S  more  or  less  injurious. 

At  Albany  I  stopped  to  visit  Professor  Robert  Trumbull, 
uncle  of  the  three  Milligan  brothers.  He  and  his  wife  were 
probably  the  only  Covenanters  left  in  that  capital  city, 
where  at  one  time  Rev.  J.  R.  Willson  was  pastor  and  where 
he  preached  his  great  sermon  afterwards  printed  and  called 
"Prince  Messiah."  Mr.  Trumbull  was  afterwards  appointed 
professor  at  Geneva  College  and  continued  in  that  position, 
I  think,  until  his  death. 

Passing  down  the  beautiful  Hudson  to  Newburgh,  where  I 
had  never  been  before,  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  week  and 
formed  acquaintance  with  many  excellent  Covenanters,  sub- 
sequently life-long  friends,  and  had  a  real  good  time  with 
my  dear  friend  and  fellow-student,  J.  Ren  wick  Thompson, 
preparing  for  licensure.  Recurring  to  my  diary  I  see  that  in 
company  with  the  pastor  or  with  Mr.  Thompson  I  attended 
a  wedding  (Rev.  Carlisle  the  prie.st)  where  wine  was  served 
to  the  guests,  most  of  them  partaking  but  not  without  my 
subsequent  protest  to  the  pastor.  (Total  abstinence  was  not 
yet  a  declared  statute  law  in  the  church.)  While  I  was  at 
Mr.  Thompson's  I  saw  a  copy  of  Rev.  John  Little's  sermon 


the;  licentiate's  work  and  jottings.  145 

teaching  the  duty  of  obedience  to  the  fugitive  slave  law,  and 
which,  after  the  reading,  I  denominated  an  "empty  and 
heretical  production."  On  Sabbath  I  preached  two  sermons 
for  Mr.  Carlisle,  pastor  of  the  Newburgh  church.  On  Mon- 
day I  wrote  in  my  diary  the  following:  "The  congregation 
was  attentive,  especially  in  the  afternoon.  This  is  the  most 
prepossessing  congregation  I  have  yet  seen  in  the  church. ' ' 
The  elders,  of  whom  I  always  had  the  warmest  recollections 
as  noble  men  and  loyal  Covenanters,  were  William  Thomp- 
son and  Matthew  Duke.  They  and  their  families  were  not 
only  most  worthy  members,  but  also  ornaments  in  the 
church.  Of  Mr.  Thompson  and  all  the  members  of  his 
family  I  always  had  the  most  grateful  memories.  During 
many  long  years  in  which  I  was  often  at  Newburgh  attending 
Presbytery  or  Synod,  or  visiting,  I  was  always  welcomed  to 
that  beautiful  home  in  Orange  County  and  near  Coldenham 
in  whose  church  graveyard  are  the  graves  of  so  many 
precious  saints,  notably  J.  R.  Willson,  D.  D.,  and  Rev. 
Moses  Roney. 

Leaving  Newburgh,  the  most  beautiful  city  on  the  Hudson, 
on  my  way  to  New  York  I  stopped  at  Coldspring  to  visit 
my  friend  Charles  L.  Williams  who  was  temporarily  in  that 
place  in  search  of  health  and  "trying  to  make  a  living." 
The  violence  he  had  suffered  when  at  the  theological  semi- 
nary had  resulted  in  consumption  from  which  he  died  in 
New  York  City  probably  two  or  three  years  afterwards. 
Though  a  fallible  man  he  is  of  precious  memory. 

My  next  appointments  were  in  Kensington,  Philadelphia, 
where  I  remained  three  Sabbaths.  On  the  third  I  preached 
in  the  forenoon  from  "And  on  the  side  of  the  oppressor 
there  was  power,"  etc.;  in  the  p.  m.  from  "Behold,  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock,"  etc.  Then  walking  to  Cherry 
Street  church  I  preached  for  the  pastor.  Rev.  J.  M.  Willson, 
from  the  words:    "Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?" 

ID 


146  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK   SUNSET    LAND. 

During  the  weeks  I  was  in  Philadelphia  I  had  much 
Christian  fellowship  with  friends  with  whom  I  had  pre- 
viously become  acquainted,  and  I  formed  new  acquaintance 
with  quite  a  number  of  most  excellent  people  of  whom  I 
would  like  to  write  at  length.  I  must  not  fail  to  mention 
Elder  John  Evans,  a  rarely  excellent  man,  an  old  teacher 
(from  whom  I  bought  a  second-hand  copy  of  Bishop 
Mant's  metrical  version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms),  and  Elder 
Robert  Forsyth,  an  Israelite  in  whom  there  is  no  guile. 

My  work  in  Philadelphia  being  done  I  returned  to  New 
York  to  attend  the  fall  meeting  of  Presbyter}-.  It  was  mem- 
orable because  of  the  trial  of  Rev.  John  Little,  pastor  of  the 
third  New  York  congregation,  who  had  preached  a  sermon 
in  reference  to  the  fugitive  slave  law  and  who  had  been 
libeled  for  teaching  doctrines  contrarj^  to  the  church's  creed 
as  to  civil  government.  The  trial  occupied  much  time  in 
Presbytery  and  there  was  much  ex.citement.  David  Torrens, 
a  member  of  the  second  congregation,  was  the  prosecutor. 
This  fact  led  to  the  opinion  b}^  .some  that  the  libel  had  been 
instituted  more  in  opposition  to  the  sister  congregation  than 
out  of  love  to  the  purity  of  the  church  or  of  her  ministry; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  there  had  been  less  congrega- 
tional animosity  and  more  brotherly  love  the  trial  of  a  min- 
ister and  pastor  charged  with  erroneous  teaching,  and  this 
on  a  vital  point  in  the  Covenanter  Church,  would  have  been 
more  harmonious  and  productive  of  good.  Nevertheless, 
Pastor  Little  had  committed  a  grave  offense  against  Christ 
and  his  church  and  the  .slave.  The  trial  occupied  most  of 
the  time  of  Presb5-tery  during  several  days.  I  was  present 
all  the  time  and  heard  and  .saw  all  that  was  said  and  done. 
I  had  no  interest  in  the  issue  except  as  it  bore  upon  the 
church  of  Christ  and  of  freedom.  To  be  at  all  able  to  judge 
the  ca.se  now,  at  least  the  following  facts  must  be  con- 
sidered. 


THE    LICKNTIATK  vS    WORK    AND   JOTTINGS.  1 47 

1.  At  that  time  the  "deacon  controversy"  wa!>  still 
agitating  the  church  greatly,  the  question  being  whether  con- 
gregations should  have  deacons  or  not,  and  the  question  was 
modified  by  another,  viz.,  the  extent  of  the  deacon's  power. 
And  the  church  was  largely  divided  into  "deacon  men"  and 
"anti-deacon  men." 

2.  It  was  noticeable  during  many  years  that  the  "deacon 
men"  were,  "as  a  rule,"  more  interested  and  active  in  the 
anti  slavery  cause  than  the  anti-deacon  men,  though  I  see 
little  if  any  moral  connection  between  the  two  positions. 

3.  The  excitement  all  over  the  countr}-  that  followed  the 
passage  of  the  fugitive  slave  law  about  a  year  before,  still 
ran  high,  and  no  wonder.  Covenanters  unanimously  testi- 
fied against  it  and  denounced  it  notwithstanding  its  constitu- 
tionality as  an  infamous  act  and  a  law  to  be  only  trampled 
underfoot.  So  it  followed  that  when  a  Covenanter  pastor 
would  preach  on  the  subject  at  all  he  would  be  expected, 
especially  by  his  own  people  and  other  Covenanters,  to  be 
outspoken  in  testifying  against  the  law  and  everything  that 
favored  slavery.  It  appeared  from  the  testimony,  however, 
that  Pastor  Little  had  said  nothing  against  the  law  or  in 
favor  of  freedom  for  the  slaves;  but  that  all  he  had  said  was 
in  favor  of  conscientious  submission  to  existing  law  in  any 
providential  government;  and  the  "Seceder  doctrine"  of 
obedience  to  the  "powers  that  be."  The  preacher,  who  had 
recently  come  from  Ireland,  was  a  young  man  who  mani- 
festly had  given  little  attention  to  the  subject  that  had  been 
agitating  the  minds  of  American  Covenanters;  and  he  was 
rightl}'  judged  to  be  "not  a  good  Covenanter." 

4.  He  was  the  pastor  of  the  New  York  third  congregation 
that  had  broken  off  from  the  second  on  account  of  the  differ- 
ences of  opinion  on  "the  deacon  question,"  and  the  hostility 
between  the  two  congregations  had  not  diminished  much. 
It  was  unfortunate,   therefore,   for  the  truth  that    the  elder 


148  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

who  preferred  the  charge  against  Mr.  Little  was  a  member 
of  the  second  congregation. 

5.  During  the  trial  I  noticed  that  in  almost  every  vote  on 
the  several  "counts"  in  the  libel  the  "deacon  men"  voted 
to  sustain  the  charges  while  the  "  anti-deacon  men"  voted  to 
acquit.  With  slight  and  rare  exceptions  the  looker-on 
could  anticipate  what  the  vote  would  be.  The  record  that 
I  made  in  my  note-book  at  the  time  confirms  the  accuracy 
of  the  statement.  The  men  who  were  the  most  outspoken 
and  active  leaders  on  both  sides  have  long  since  passed 
away  from  the  exciting  scenes  of  the  church  militant.  Two 
of  the  leaders  lived  and  died  loved  and  honored  and  with 
characters  unsullied,  but  it  can  not  be  forgotten  that  they 
and  others  were  divided  in  a  church  trial  and  on  a  case  in 
which  there  should  have  been  no  divi-sion.  The  fugitive- 
slave  law  is  now  among  the  things  of  the  dead  past  except 
as  it  is  remembered  only  to  be  hated  by  all  true  friends  of  God 
and  the  poor;  but  it  still  remains  a  lamentable  fact  that  in 
quite  too  many  congregations  there  are  still  no  deacons  not- 
withstanding the  order  of  Synod  many  years  ago  that  no 
new  congregations  may  be  organized  without  deacons. 

I  take  pleasure  now  in  copying  this  sentence  from  my 
record  of  Presbytery's  actions:  viz.  "After  passing  some 
strong  resolutions  on  (against)  slavery  and  the  fugitive-slave 
law,  and  doing  some  other  business,  Presbytery  adjourned." 
And  I  may  rejoice  to  add  that  after  the  Presbytery  no 
minister  in  the  Covenanter  Church  ever  thought  to  dare  to 
preach  in  apology  for  the  infamous  United  States  law  of 
1850. 

I  have  failed  to  record  what  should  have  been  written 
sooner,  viz.  the  final  action  of  Presbytery  in  Mr.  Little's 
trial.  On  the  principal  counts  of  the  libel  he  was  con- 
demned. Against  this  action  notice  of  intention  to  com- 
plain to  Synod  was  given  by  a  leader  in  the  minority.     On 


THE    licentiate's   WORK   AND  JOTTINGvS.  149 

the  part  of  the  majority  it  was  moved  that  Rev.  Little  be 
called  upon  to  retract  or  explain  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
count  his  doctrine  as  taught.  This  was  passed  unan- 
imously. He  responded  at  some  length.  His  explanations 
were  regarded  as  somewhat  satisfactory ;  and  then  the 
following  resolution  was  offered  and  I  suppose  was  adopted 
though  I  do  not  now  remember,  viz.  "Whereas  it  is  the 
judgment  of  this  Presbytery  that  Mr.  Little,  while  it  appears 
from  his  explanation  that  he  has  not  intended  to  be  hostile  to, 
has  not  clearly  presented  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church  concerning  civil  government  in  the 
sermon  referred  to  on  the  libel.  Resolved  that  he  be  and 
hereby  is  admonished  by  this  Presbytery  to  be  careful  in 
future  to  so  exhibit  the  doctrine  and  testimony  of  the  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  Church  as  to  occasion  no  suspicion  that 
he  does  not  intend  to  be  faithful  in  the  matter." 

And  this  writing  would  not  be  complete  without  the 
following  record  which  I  copy  from  Rev.  W.  M.  Glasgow's 
"History  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,"  viz. 
"For  causing  defection  and  abandoning  his  charge,  he  was 
suspended  by  the  New  York  Presbytery,  April  20,  1852" 
(six  months  after  his  trial).  "He  connected  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  received  by  the  Presbytery 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  February  9,  1853.  He  preached 
but  a  short  time,  when,  becoming  despondent,  he  sickened 
and  died  in  great  distress,  January  2,  1855." 

Before  closing  this  chapter  it  should  be  noted  that  among 
the  papers  before  the  Presbytery  was  a  petition  from  the 
congregation  of  Topsham,  Vt.,  asking  for  the  moderation  of 
a  call  for  a  pastor.  Rev.  R.  Z.  Willson  of  Craftsbury  was 
appointed  to  moderate  in  the  call.  Meanwhile  suppHes 
were  granted. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Home   Again.     Old   Fields   Revisited.      Afflictions 
AND  Trials  of  Faith. 

The  next  morning  after  the  adjournment  of  Presbytery 
I  was  off  for  Ohio  to  meet  loved  ones  and  to  fulfil  appoint- 
ments in  the  Presbytery  of  the  Lakes.  Going  by  Dunkirk, 
N.  Y.,  and  Sandu.sky,  O.,  I  was  met  by  Eliza  at  Bellecenter. 
We  had  been  separated  four  months;  hope  said  it  would  be 
the  last  time  to  continue  so  long.  We  spent  the  following 
Sabbath  with  my  mother  who  was  now  making  her  home 
with  Dr.  Carter  and  my  sister  in  Northwood.  I  now  look 
back  upon  that  Sabbath  as  a  happy  one.  Years  had  passed 
since  we  all  had  met — our  most  precious  mother,  our  dear 
brother-in-law,  and  our  sweet  sister  Mary  Jane — and  we  all 
went  to  church  and  worshiped  together  when  brother  J.  B., 
the  pastor,  preached,  and  when  brother  James  and  his 
family  were  at  church* also.  Had  brother  Samuel  and  his 
family,  yet  at  the  old  homestead,  been  there  it  would  have 
been  a  family  reunion.  On  the  following  Sabbath  I  preached 
in  the  same  old  Miami  pulpit  in  the  forenoon  and  then  in 
the  evening  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Bellefontaine. 
My  appointments  for  the  autumn  and  winter  were  in  the 
vacancies  and  mission  stations  of  the  Presbytery ;  and  Rev. 
A.  McFarland,  pastor  of  the  Utica  congregation,  had  invited 
me  to  fill  his  pulpit  for  a  few  Sabbaths  during  his  absence. 
On  the  29th  of  January,  1852,  when  at  our  temporary  home 
in  Bellefontaine,  I  received  an  official  letter  from  Rev.  R. 
Z.  Willson,  of  Vermont,  informing  me  that  he  had  moder- 

(150) 


HOME    AGAIN.  15I 

ated  in  a  unanimous  call  for  me  in  Topsham  congregation. 
For  some  reasons  I  was  made  glad  by  the  reception  of  the 
intelligence  but  that  I  had  great  fears  is  evident  from  what 
was  written  in  my  private  journal  at  the  time,  viz.  "What 
a  tide  of  thought  concerning  solemn  and  sacred  respon- 
sibilities flows  in  upon  me  at  the  reception  of  this  letter ! 
What  means  this  providence?  What  is  duty?  Who  is 
sufficient  for  these  things?  O  God,  show  me  what  thou  wilt 
have  me  to  do,  and  then  make  me  willing  and  able  to  per- 
form my  duty." 

During  this  winter  there  was  widespread  agitation  in 
Ohio  on  the  subject  of  temperance  and  prohibition.  It  was 
occasioned  by  an  earnest  effort  to  secure  a  state  law  similar 
to  the  Maine  liquor  law.  During  the  early  winter  as  the 
agitation  grew,  and  between  Sabbaths  when  fulfilling 
appointments,  in  response  to  invitations  I  gave  several 
lectures  at  different  places,  the  last  being  at  Utica.  During 
the  previous  week  I  had  attended  a  great  state  convention 
at  Columbus,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  enthusiastic  I  ever 
saw.  My  old  professor  of  Latin  in  Miami  University, 
Chauncey  N.  Olds,  was  the  president.  Some  of  the  most 
eminent  public  speakers  in  the  state  gave  addresses.  The 
enthusiasm  ran  up  to  white  heat;  and  if  that  convention 
had  been  an  index  of  the  sentiments  of  the  majority  of  the 
people,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  mountain  barrier  in 
the  way,  the  liquor  power  of  the  state,  Ohio  might  have 
had  a  Maine  liquor  law  before  the  adjournment  of  the 
legislature  then  in  session.  But  to  this  day  the  license 
system  rules  in  Ohio.  While  in  the  city  I  lodged  with  Dr. 
Awl  whose  wife  was  my  cousin  and  ever  dear  to  me  for  my 
mother's  sake.     This  was  the  last  time  I  ever  saw  them. 

My  next  appointment  being  at  Utica  where  I  was  a 
stranger  except  to  Covenanters,  and  as  I  was  fresh  from  the 
convention,  arrangements  were  made  for  a  public  meeting  in 


152  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

the  Presb3'terian  Church  011  the  Monday  evening  at  which  I 
was  invited  to  give  the  address.  The  weather  was  intensely 
cold,  the  first  day  of  March.  The  house  was  densely  crowded 
by  people  who,  as  others,  were  carried  on  the  rising  tide 
I  spoke  a  full  hour  in  an  impure  atmosphere,  for  it  was  so 
cold  outside  that  the  windows  could  not  be  kept  open.  I 
became  heated  more  than  I  was  aware  of  and  going  out  sud- 
denly into  the  cold,  and  lodging  with  a  friend  in  a  fireless 
room,  I  contracted  a  cold  that  soon  threatened  to  be  disas- 
trous. The  next  night,  however,  according  to  announcement 
on  the  Sabbath,  I  gave  a  lecture  on  church  music  but  with 
much  difl5culty.  I  was  expected  to  preach  the  next  Sabbath 
at  Jonathan's  Creek.  My  cold  which  settled  upon  my  throat 
and  lungs  grew  worse  but  I  was  able  to  reach  the  home  of 
Elder  William  Wylie,  the  father  of  (Rev.)  Preston  H.  Wylie, 
who  lived  within  the  bounds  of  the  congregation.  Here  I 
grew  worse  and  became  so  sick  with  inflammation  of  the 
lungs  that  I  was  not  able  to  sit  up  nor  to  speak  above  a 
breath.  Word  was  sent  to  the  church  on  Sabbath  morning 
that  there  would  be  no  preaching.  My  sickness,  accompanied 
by  a  severe  and  painful  cough,  continued  for  nearly  a  week; 
but  I  would  not  consent  to  have  a  physician  called.  Mrs. 
Wylie  was  a  kind  and  considerate  nurse,  and  it  was  the  will 
of  the  divine  Physician  that  I  should  recover.  Knowing  that 
I  could  not  fulfil  my  appointments  at  Jonathan's  Creek,  I 
returned  home  as  soon  as  I  was  able  to  travel.  For  a  month 
or  more  I  had  such  a  painful  cough  with  more  or  less  fever 
that  I  feared  that  disease  was  fastened  upon  my  lungs  for 
life.  I  was  able  to  fulfil  no  more  appointments  that  winter. 
I  remained  at  our  temporary  home  in  Bellefontaine  until  the 
cold  weather  was  over. 

On  Thursday  the  15th  of  April,  accompanied  by  my  wife 
and  the  two  Milligan  brothers,  licentiates,  I  started  east  to 
be  present  at  the  New  York  Presbytery  to  meet  at  Newburgh 


home;  again.  153 

the  following  week.  We  went  b}'  rail  to  Sandusky  and  then 
by  boat  to  Cleveland  intending  to  spend  the  Sabbath  with 
friends  in  the  latter.  These  were  ray  aunt,  the  widow  of  my 
uncle  Archibald  Johnston,  and  Mr.  David  Pollock,  the  hus- 
band of  her  daughter.  Mr.  Pollock  was  an  elder  in  the 
Secession  Church  of  Cleveland,  Rev.  McGill  pastor.  We 
all  were  invited  to  preach,  and  that  we  might  there  were 
three  services. 

On  Monday  we  went  aboard  a  lake  steamer  bound  to 
Dunkirk,  but  the  ice  which  had  recently  broken  up  on  the 
lake  was  so  abundant  we  were  detained  at  Erie  a  long  time. 
This  was  then  the  western  terminus  of  the  Lake  Shore  Rail- 
road, or  as  far  as  it  had  been  built  west  of  Buffalo.  The 
delay  prevented  me  from  reaching  Newburgh  until  after  the 
adjournment  of  Presbytery.  I  had  been  requested  to  be 
present  that  the  Topsham  call  might  be  presented.  As  I 
failed  to  be  there  as  expected,  the  committee  on  supplies  was 
directed  to  make  me  stated  supply  at  Topsham  until  the  next 
meeting  of  Presbytery,  the  only  thing  that  could  be  done 
under  the  circumstances.  Eliza  and  our  traveling  compan- 
ions stopped  at  Albany  with  their  uncle  Robert  Trumbull. 
As  they  came  down  on  the  Hudson  steamer  the  next  day,  at 
Newburgh  I  joined  the  company  and  proceeded  to  New  York, 
making  our  home  with  Mr.  James  Wiggins.  On  Sabbath  I 
preached  for  Rev.  Dr.  Stevenson.  According  to  invitation 
and  promise  we  returned  to  Newburgh  and  visited  with  Mr. 
Thompson's  family,  having  a  good  time  with  my  fellow- 
student,  and  preached  on  Sabbath  for  the  pa.stor,  Rev.  Samuel 
Carlisle. 

On  the  following  Tuesday,  May  4,  we  left  New  York  for 
Topsham  by  the  New  Haven  train  and  lodged  overnight  at 
Springfield,  Mass.  The  next  day  on  our  arrival  at  Bradford, 
Vt.,  on  the  Connecticut  River,  we  were  met  by  Elder  Josiah 
Divoll  of  Topsham  and  taken  to  his  delightful  home.      Here 


154  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK   .SUNSET    LAND. 

we  were  welcomed  by  his  famil}^  wife,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  the  children  all  in  early  youth — a  family  than 
whom  I  have  rarely  if  ever  found  more  excellent  people. 
We  will  hear  more  of  them  after  a  while. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Field.     The  Decision.     The  Ordination. 

ONI.Y  those  who  have  been  pastors  can  fully  know  how 
anxious  I  was  on  entering  upon  my  new  field  of  labor.  The 
providence  that  prevented  me  from  arriving  at  Newburgh  in 
time  to  be  at  Presbytery  made  it  more  unpleasant  than  if  I 
could  have  been  ordained  and  installed  without  more  than 
usual  delay.  To  show  how  my  mind  was  exercised  at  the 
time,  I  copy  here  the  first  entry  made  in  my  diary.  "Having 
received  a  call  from  Topsham  congregation,  but  not  arriving 
at  Presbytery  in  time  for  its  formal  presentation  and  accept- 
ance, the  committee  directed  me  to  come  on  here  and  labor 
as  supply  until  next  meeting  of  Presbytery,  advising  me  to 
be  prepared  for  ordination  at  that  time,  and  assigning  me 
subjects  for  lecture  and  sermon.  Accordingly  I  have  come 
forward,  though  in  the  midst  of  many  fears  and  under  many 
discouraging  circumstances,  and  have  entered  upon  my 
labor.  That  it  was  my  duty  to  come,  I  was  satisfied;  and 
yet  I  came  with  considerable  reluctance.  I  have  had  great 
fear  that  this  is  not  the  field  in  which  I  .should  labor.  But 
as  the  call  was  unanimous,  as  the  congregation  has  been 
vacant  a  long  time  and  is  in  great  need  of  a  pastor,  and  as  it 
was  the  first  call,  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  cast  my  all 
upon  God  whose  will  is  that  I  should  be  here.  What  he 
intends  to  do  with  me  here  I  know  not." 

Farther  on  I  find  the  following:  "I  fear  that  this  field,  in 
which  I  have  been  called  to  labor,  has  been  .so  long  without 
cultivation,  it  will  require  more  labor  than  I  can  bestow  to 

(155) 


156  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

produce  abundant  crops.  The  fences  are  all  tottering  or 
prostrate,  thorns  and  briers  have  grown  all  over  the  fields, 
the  boar  of  the  forest  has  entered,  the  adversary  has  sown 
tares,  and  so  great  are  the  obstacles  in  the  way  that  unless 
the  good  Husbandman  himself  will  labor  as  well  as  direct  and 
strengthen  his  feeble  servant,  my  labor  must  be  fruitless. 
O  !  that  the  Master  may  direct,  strengthen  and  comfort. 
Especially,  Lord  Jesus,  give  me  the  hearts  of  the  young  of 
the  flock,  that  I  may  be  the  means  of  leading  them  to  thee, 
thou  Good  Shepherd." 

On  the  second  Sabbath  I  began  to  explain  the  Psalms  in 
order;  and  believing  then  as  I  do  yet  in  the  great  value  of 
expository  preaching  I  began  to  lecture  in  the  forenoon  on 
the  Gospel  by  John.  In  the  afternoon  I  preached  from  the 
text  I  Cor.  2:2.  "For  I  determined  to  know  nothing 
among  you  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified."  Under 
the  date  of  the  following  day  I  find  this  entry  in  my  journal: 
"B}'  thy  grace,  Lord  Jesus,  I  shall  know  nothing  among  the 
people  with  whom  I  am  called  to  labor  which  shall  not  tend 
to  exalt  thyself  and  advance  thy  cause.  Forbid  that  I 
should  glor}'  save  in  thy  cross." 

We  continued  to  lodge  in  Elder  Divoll's  house  though 
boarding  ourselves  until  the  31st  of  May  when  we  moved 
into  the  village  taking  the  upper  story,  four  rooms,  of  a  com- 
fortable house  belonging  to  George  Downs,  brother  of  the 
village  doctor,  on  the  bank  of  the  stream,  the  north  branch 
of  Waits  River.  As  there  was  a  waterfall  adjacent  we 
always  had  the  music  of  the  flowing  stream.  At  night  it 
sang  us  to  sleep;  in  the  morning  it  called  us  to  rise  to  activ- 
ity in  the  work  of  the  day;  and  the  daily  work  was  for  the 
Master  whose  servants  we  are.  As  we  were  poor  and  had 
very  little  furniture  and  no  money  to  expend  on  more,  we 
had  little  need  of  four  rooms,  yet  they  were  convenient  and 
cost  us  almost  nothing — only  twenty-five  dollars  for  a  year! 


THE    ORDINATION.  1 57 

But  that  was  enough  for  a  pastor  to  pay  when  his  salary- 
was  only  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  or  less  than  thirty 
dollars  per  month.  To  this  promised  salary  Presbytery  had 
resolved  to  add  a  small  supplement.  Small  as  was  the 
amount  it  was  as  much  in  proportion  as  eight  hundred 
would  be  now;  and  with  a  small  family  and  by  the  study  of 
economy  we  had  all  we  needed  and  were  happy  in  our 
penury.  We  had  no  right  to  complain  of  the  people.  They 
were  few  in  number,  only  about  thirty-five  communicants. 
Some  of  these  were  poor,  none  rich;  a  large  majority  were 
women  and  quite  a  number  of  them  aged  and  without  fami- 
lies. The  greatest  wonder  was  that  the  congregation  had 
kept  together  all  through  the  troublous  times  that  culmi- 
nated in  the  division  of  1833  and  for  eighteen  years  after- 
wards without  a  pastor.  The  leading  families  were  loyal  Cov- 
enanters; nothing  could  draw  them  away  from  the  old  blue 
banner.  Yet  there  were  others  among  the  membership  who 
were  on  the  roll  rather  because  of  education  or  because  that 
was  the  only  Presbyterian  Church  of  any  kind  in  the  eastern 
side  of  the  town  and  the  only  church  organization  except  a 
small  society  of  Methodists,  but  they  had  no  regular  preach- 
ing. And  as  the  house  of  worship,  now  becoming  an 
ancient  structure,  was  a  Union  house,  /.  c.  built  and  owned 
by  the  pewholders  who  were  of  different  denominations,  all 
kinds  of  church-going  people  attended  worship  there.  For 
many  years  after  my  settlement  in  Topsham  the  house  was 
generally  filled  with  "Presbyterians"  (as  Covenanters  had 
always  been  called)  and  Congregationalist'^,  Methodists^ 
Baptists,  and  Universalists.  The  Presbyterians  were  the 
most  numerous,  and  probably  the  Universalists,  in  belief, 
next  in  number.  And  then  some  who  could  not  be  classified 
except  as  people  who  went  to  church  because  of  the  force  of 
custom  and  because  it  was  regarded  as  an  evidence  of  respec- 
tability or  good  citizenship,  were  generally  in  their  pews  on 


158  I.OOKING    BACK    FROM    THK   SUNSET    IvAND. 

the  Sabbath.  Besides  these  church-goers  there  were  not  a 
few  in  the  village  and  all  over  the  town  who  were  of  the 
second  or  third  generation  of  some  of  the  pioneers  who  were 
of  the  class  generally  called  infidels  or  wholly  unconcerned 
about  religion  and  who  rarely  ever  "went  to  church"  except 
perhaps  at  a  funeral;  and  to  this  class  belonged  the  unedu- 
cated and  the  immoral. 

Thus  Topsham  was  manifestly  a  good  mission  station,  a 
place  needing  much  hard  work  by  any  zealous  missionary. 
And  this  reminds  me  of  "old  Father  Bailey,"  a  Congrega- 
tional minister  who  in  his  e  ^rly  life  was  a  pastor  in  New- 
bury, the  town  adjacent  on  the  east.  After  his  retirement 
and  in  his  old  age  he  resided  in  the  town  of  Hardwick 
through  which  I  was  passing  one  day  on  my  way  to  Crafts- 
bury.  He  was  a  man  of  whom  I  had  heard  so  much  as  an 
excellent  man  and  eminent  minister  that  I  desired  to  see 
him,  and  I  called  upon  him.  After  a  very  brief  conversation 
he  said  to  me:  "Where  are  you  settled.  Brother  Johnston  ?" 
When  I  informed  him  he  added:  "In  Topsham?  O,  I  am 
glad  you  are  there."  "Why?"  I  asked.  "Because,"  said 
he,  "that  is  a  place  where  the  devil  has  his  seat;  and  that 
is  the  place  for  you." 

The  fact  mentioned  above  had  very  much  influence  in  my 
mind  in  helping  me  to  decide  the  question  of  accepting  the 
call.  But  there  were  other  reasons  beside.  Topsham  was 
a  New  England  town.  The  people  were  educated,  moral, 
and  as  a  class  religious  or  respectful  to  religion.  Compared 
with  the  west,  what  we  call  societ)^  was  superior  and  desir- 
able. If  located  there  I  would  be  a  laborer  among  a  people 
to  whom  I  was  a  stranger  so  that  I  could  enter  the  field  free 
from  "  bygones."  Besides,  I  would  not  be  building  upon  a 
foundation  laid  by  another.  M}^  work  would  be  largelj-  de 
novo.  And  then  except  its  long  and  cold  winters  the 
country  is  most  desirable.     Its  springs  of  pure  cold  water, 


THE    ORDINATION.  1 59 

its  great  multiplicity  of  never-failing  and  most  beautiful 
brooks  and  streams,  its  pure  atmosphere  and  invigorating 
climate,  and  its  charming  summers,  all  make  it  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  desirable  places  of  residence  east  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  stream  was  the  North  Fork  of  Waits  River 
whose  head  streams  and  brooklets  originated  near  the  tops 
of  the  hills.  The  river  emptied  into  the  Connecticut  at  Brad- 
ford, twelve  miles  below.  Within  the  limits  of  the  village 
there  were  several  waterfalls  making  altogether  seventy  feet 
of  descent;  and  these  falls  were  utilized  for  five  or  .six  mills 
or  works  of  different  kinds. 

The  water  used  by  nearly  all  the  families  in  the  village 
was  obtained  from  springs  or  brooklets  on  the  hillsides  and 
brought  from  th^  main  pipe  into  the  houses  mostly  by 
wooden  pipes.  On  three  sides  were  high  hills  from  whose 
highest  tops  could  be  seen  the  White  Mountains  of  New 
Hampshire,  some  of  which,  as  Mt.  Washington,  the  highest, 
were  covered  with  snow  seven  or  eight  months  in  the  year. 
I  confess  that  all  these  things  had  much  influence  upon  my 
mind.  From  early  life  I  was  fond  of  the  picturesque  and 
the  grand  and  the  beautiful  in  nature.  This  love  grew  upon 
me  the  longer  my  residence  continued  in  Vermont;  and  I 
never  had  much  patience  with  those  who  were  devoid  of  it. 
For  what  were  eyes  given  to  as  if  not  to  afford  us  delight  in 
beholding  the  beautiful  in  the  works  of  God. 

Owing  to  reasons  given  on  previous  pages  there  had  been 
no  opportunity  to  present  the  call  from  Topsham  congrega- 
tion though  the  people  expected  it  would  be  accepted.  The 
fall  meeting  of  Presbytery  was  at  New  York  on  the  6th 
of  October.  Elder  Daniel  Keenan  went  with  me  as  the 
representative  of  the  session  and  congregation.  He  was  a 
good  man,  an  intelligent  man,  and  a  good  elder;  not  perfect 
but  one  of  the  best  men  I  have  ever  known  and  loved  From 
the  finst  to  the  last  he  grew  in  my  estimation,  and  my  love 


l6o  LOOKING    BACK    P^ROM    THE   SUNSET    EAND. 

to  him  grew  stronger  and  stronger  to  the  end.     We  will 
hear  more  of  him  after  a  while. 

The  congregation  had  been  able  to  promise  a  salary  of 
only  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Elder  Keenan  carried  a 
petition  to  Presbytery-  asking  a  supplement  of  fifty  dollars. 
Dr.  Stevenson  moved  to  make  it  one  hundred  dollars.  Dr. 
Christie  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Willson  and  Rev.  S.  M.  Willson 
advocated  the  one  hundred  dollars.  The  pastor  of  Colden- 
ham  opposed  it  fearing  that  Presbytery  could  not  pay  it. 
Its  advocates  argued  that  to  settle  a  pastor  on  a  salary  no 
more  than  is  paid  to  a  common  day  laborer  is  to  lower  the 
office  of  the  ministry.  The  motion  passed  unanimously. 
The  call  was  presented  and  accepted — accepted  certainly  not 
for  the  sake  of  the  salary,  though  in  those  days  country 
pastors,  especially  in  the  Covenanter  Church,  did  not  expect 
much  more  if  any.  We  had  faith  and  trust  in  God  that 
we  would  ' '  not  lack  any  good. 

I  was  examined  in  Theology,  Church  History,  Church 
Government,  Pastoral  Theology,  and  Greek  and  Hebrew; 
and  the  examination  was  unanimously  sustained.  Rev. 
James  Christie  (not  yet  a  D.  D.),  Rev.  R.  Z.  Willson,  and 
Rev.  James  Beattie,  together  with  three  elders  from  Ver- 
mont, were  appointed  a  commis.sion  to  ordain  and  install  the 
pastor  elect  on  the  loth  of  November  following.  Rev.  Mr. 
Christie,  Moderator  of  the  Commission,  came  to  Topsham 
the  week  before  the  ordination  and  was  our  guest  all  the 
time  he  remained  in  Topsham.  On  the  Sabbath  before, 
he  preached  both  forenoon  and  afternoon.  His  texts  were: 
' '  And  unto  Him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  nations  be, ' '  and 
' '  The  light  is  short  because  of  darkness. ' ' 

The  Commission  met  on  Tuesday,  the  9th,  to  hear  the 
trial  discourses  that  had  been  assigned  by  Presbytery.  The 
lecture  was  on  Hebrews  4  :  14-16,  about  the  priesthood  of 
Christ.     The    ' '  trial   pieces ' '    were   given   under   very  un- 


THE    ORDINATION.  l6l 

pleasant  circumstances.  For  a  week  or  more  I  had  been 
sufiFering  greatly  from  a  large  carbuncle  on  my  back.  It 
became  so  intensely  painful  that  it  was  with  great  difficulty 
that  I  could  preach  at  all.  It  seemed  to  be  a  chastisement 
to  humble  me.  Few  of  the  people  knew  of  my  affliction, 
and  perhaps  none  of  the  Presbyters  except  Dr.  Christie. 

On  the  day  of  ordination  Dr.  Christie  preached  the  ordi- 
nation sermon  from  the  text,  i  Tim.  3:15.  "That  thou 
mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in  the 
house  of  God."  He  asked  the  ordinary  queries  and  led  in 
the  ordination  prayer.  After  the  devotional  exercises  were 
over  Rev.  R.  Z.  Willson  gave  the  address  to  the  pastor,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Beattie  to  the  people. 

No  one  who  has  not  had  a  similar  experience  can  know 
the  heart  of  a  sinful  man  coming  under  ordination  vows;  so 
solemn  are  his  responsibilities.  It  is  now  forty  years  since 
the  following  words  were  written  in  my  private  journal;  why 
need  I  hesitate  to  call  them  up  now?  "Thus  I  have  been 
ordained  to  the  office  of  the  ministry  to  which  I  have  long 
looked  forward  with  much  prayer  and  anxiety.  As  it  has 
pleased  God  to  induct  me  into  this  office  and  to  place  me  as 
pastor  over  Topsham  congregation,  there  are  two  things  for 
which  I  most  ardently  desire  and  pray:  ist,  that  he  would 
give  me  all  necessary  wisdom  and  grace  to  perform  well  the 
duties  of  pa.stor;  2nd,  that  he  would  give  me  many  '  souls 
for  my  hire. '  The  work  is  thine,  O  God.  Work  the  work 
here.  Lord,  and  bear  the  glory.  Follow,  thou  Good  Shep- 
herd, the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  Presbytery  with  an 
unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit:  and  to  thee  I  now  vow  to  dedi- 
cate my  all  and  to  labor  for  Jesus  Christ. ' ' 


II 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Flock  and  the  Shepherd's  Work. 

On  the  Sabbath  following  the  ordination  I  preached  from 
Jer.  i:6:  "Then  said  I,  Ah,  Lord  God!  behold,  I  can  not 
speak:  for  I  am  a  child."  Beginning  with  the  second  Sab- 
bath after  our  arrival  in  Topsham  I  preached  habitually 
from  wTitten  discourses,  not  written  out  in  full  but  in  full 
skeleton  or  homily,  wdth  proof  texts  and  the  substance  of 
the  whole  argument  or  truths  declared  and  illustrations 
used.  Thus  every  lecture  and  every  sermon  would  be  writ- 
ten out  about  half  as  much  as  would  be  spoken  in  the  pulpit, 
and  sometimes  much  more  or  nearly  all.  I  formed  this  habit 
of  writing  my  discourses  to  help  me  in  study  and  so  that  I 
might  be  sure  of  being  well  prepared  as  to  the  matter  to  be 
presented.  Thus  I  did  not  preach  extempore  sermons  in  the 
sense  of  not  having  carefully  studied  and  mastered  the 
themes;  and  never  after  my  licensure  did  I  memorize  and 
speak  verbatim  what  had  been  written  before.  Moreover, 
except  on  one  special  occasion  and  under  peculiar  circum- 
stances did  I  ever  read  a  sermon. 

In  the  exerci.se  called  "explaining  the  psalm"  I  followed 
the  order  of  the  Bible,  i.  e.  on  the  second  Sabbath  after  our 
arrival  I  explained  the  first  psalm  before  it  was  sung;  then 
the  next  Sabbath  the  second  psalm,  or  a  part  of  it,  and  so 
on  until  the  whole  book  had  been  gone  over.  Then  I  began 
again  at  the  first.  Thus  the  book  of  Psalms  was  thoroughly 
studied.  My  habit  w^as  first  to  read  critically  the  Hebrew  of 
the  psalm,  then*  analyze  the  portion,  then  read  the  Com- 
(162) 


THE   FLOCK   AND   THE   SHEPHERD'S   WORK.  1 63 

mentators.  In  the  analysis  I  was  helped  much  by  Adam 
Clarke  and  Henry,  both  of  which  follow  the  analytical  plan. 
Otherwise  Clarke  could  not  be  followed  safely.  He  rarely 
finds  Christ  in  the  Psalms  if  he  can  avoid  it. 

In  like  manner  I  pursued  my  courses  of  lectures.  I  began 
first  with  the  book  of  John  and  lectured  through  the  book, 
the  number  of  verses  being  determined  b}-  the  sense  or  bj- 
the  size  of  the  paragraph.  This  mode,  commonly  called 
expository  preaching,  is  certainly  a  most  profitable  method — 
profitable  to  the  preacher  because  he  is  obliged  to  study 
carefully  before  he  attempts  to  expound  and  because  he  has 
a  complete  view  of  the  whole  book  studied.  In  the  Inter- 
national S.  S.  lessons  only  small  portions  are  selected  and 
the  most  of  the  entire  book  omitted.  The  pulpit  students' 
method  is  surperlatively  better. 

After  it  was  too  late  I  saw  that  I  had  made  a  mistake  in 
beginning  with  John's  Gospel.  As  his  design  was  to  show 
that  Jesus  is  the  divine  and  eternal  Son  of  God,  I  should 
have  begun  with  any  of  the  other  three  evangelists  as  they 
give  the  biography  of  our  Lord. 

After  John  was  finished,  and  it  required  a  long  time,  I  took 
up  the  book  of  the  Acts.  This  I  studied  and  expounded  with 
great  delight  and  with  much  profit;  and  I  had  evidence  that  the 
people  were  interested,  some  of  them  greatly,  as  we  advanced 
from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath.  Subsequently  I  lectured  on  the 
epistles  of  Peter;  and  finally  on  the  book  of  Isaiah,  though  this 
arduous  work  never  was  finished;  two  or  three  of  the  last 
chapters  were  not  expounded  in  Topsham.  And  I  am  here 
reminded  of  what  occurred  about  the  time  that  I  began  the 
lectures  on  Isaiah.  Shortl}-  after  I  began  I  was  in  conver- 
sation with  the  wife  of  Elder  Josiah  Divoll  who  said  that 
when  she  heard  me  announce  the  finst  lecture  in  Isaiah  and 
knew  that  I  intended  to  expound  the  entire  book  she  was 
sorry  and  had  a  presentiment  that  I  would  never  finish  the 


164  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

work.  One  of  her  former  pastors  had  begun  the  exposition 
of  the  same  book  but  did  not  finish  it.  No  wonder  that  she 
was  sorry.  And  I  myself  began  the  lectures  with  great  fear; 
but  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  leave  the  New  Testament  for  a 
while  as  I  had  been  lecturing  in  it  from  the  first.  And  I 
here  and  now  testify  that  those  pastors  who  do  not  habitually 
practise  expository  preaching,  as  well  as  those  people  who 
do  not  have  the  advantage  of  it,  suffer  great  loss;  nay  more, 
the  pastor  who  does  not  practise  it  is  verily  culpable.  He 
does  not  follow  the  Great  Example  who  spake  as  never  man 
spake. 

When  I  began  work  in  Topsham  there  was  no  Sabbath- 
school,  probably  there  never  had  been.  It  was  manifest 
that  the  children  and  the  youth  had  been  neglected  except 
in  religious  families.  I  do  not  now  remember  whether  there 
was  any  thought  or  effort  to  start  a  Sabbath-school;  but  as 
yet  I  was  not  a  pastor  but  only  supply  for  the  time,  and  so 
I  thought  it  best  to  begin  in  a  humble  way  and  take  the 
burden  upon  myself  To  make  an  experiment— I  think  it 
was  the  second  Sabbath  after  my  arrival — I  announced  that 
on  the  next  Sabbath  morning  before  the  public  religious 
services  I  would  meet  with  the  youth  to  organize  a  class  for 
religious  instruction.  At  the  appointed  time  a  goodly  num- 
ber came  and  we  began  the  study  of  the  Westminster  Shorter 
Catechism.  The  class  increased  in  size  and  interest.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  a  Sabbath-school  and  meanwhile  it 
was  a  kind  of  normal  class,  for  several  of  the  members  after- 
wards became  good  teachers  in  the  school.  In  a  few  years 
the  Topsham  Covenanter  Sabbath-school  became  the  largest 
in  the  county.  But  this  could  not  continue  very  long. 
After  a  while  the  Methodists  had  preaching  one  or  two  Sab- 
baths in  a  month  and  then  after  a  while  again  they  organized 
a  school,  meeting  in  the  town  hall  or  in  the  village  school- 
house.     The   children  of  Methodists  and  others  who  were 


THS   I^LOCK   AND   THE  SHEPHERD'S   WORK.  165 

more  in  sympathy  with  them,  left  our  school.     This  never 
was  as  large  as  formerly. 

For  many  long  years  the  families  of  the  church  had  not 
enjoyed  the  advantages  of  family  visitation  because  they 
had  no  pastor.  As  during  the  first  six  months  of  my  work 
I  was  only  a  supply,  I  could  not  officially  perform  the  duty. 
The  duty,  however,  devolved  in  part  upon  the  elders.  These 
requested  me  to  undertake  the  work  unofficially.  I  agreed 
to  do  so  provided  one  of  them  would  always  accompany  me 
to  perform  whatever  part  implied  official  duty.  In  our 
rounds  among  the  families  I  found  so  many  in  which  relig- 
ious instruction  had  been  more  or  less  neglected,  I  became 
greatly  discouraged.  In  such  families  I  suspected  that  our 
visits  were  not  desired.  The  natural  tendency  of  such  dis- 
couragements would  be  to  write  down  such  families  as 
unworthy  of  ministerial  help;  but  on  sober  second  thought 
I  inferred  that  the  condition  of  said  families  was  owing  to 
lack  of  pastoral  labors  during  long  years,  and  that  in  this 
fact  I  should  be  incited  to  far  greater  and  more  patient 
effort.  In  subsequent  years  some  of  those  families  became 
almost  all  that  a  pastor  could  expect. 

In  this  connection  I  am  constrained  to  leave  on  record 
my  estimate  of  the  ruling  elders  upon  whom  such  respon- 
sibilities rested  and  who  gave  the  pastor  such  valuable 
help.  When  I  was  installed  there  were  four  elders  and 
only  one  deacon.  The  oldest  was  Robert  McNiece, 
Sen.,  a  man  of  nearly  eighty  years,  and  the  father  of  three 
sons,  heads  of  families  belonging  to  the  congregation.  As 
he  was  about  superannuated  he  rarely  ever  attended  meetings 
of  session.  He  was  a  man  of  great  worth,  and  he  must  have 
been  exemplary  and  faithful  as  a  father  for  his  children  all 
revered  him  and  except  one,  a  physician,  all  continued  to 
the  end  loyal  Covenanters.  He  was  the  father-in-law  of 
Rev.  William  Sloane,  a  former  pastor  for  many  years.     In 


1 66  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

the  order  of  their  ages  Daniel  Keenan  was  the  next  elder. 
He  was  a  man  of  such  rare  excellence  and  I  loved  him  so 
much,  I  have  no  room  here  to  make  a  record  such  as  is 
due  to  his  memory.  If  the  reader  would  like  to  know 
something  of  his  greatness  and  goodness  he  will  find  two 
somewhat  lengthy  obituaries  of  this  excellent  man  in  the 
Covenanter,  a  church  magazine,  one  written  by  Rev.  Dr. 
A.  M.  Milligan  an'd  the  other  by  the  writer  of  these  pages. 
A  word  now  and  here  must  suffice.  Daniel  Keenan  was 
a  man  of  superior  intellect,  keen  perceptions,  strong  emo- 
tions, and  natural  high  temper;  but  he  had  made  the  high 
attainment  of  power  to  restrain  his  passion  when  provoked 
to  excitement.  He  was  a  great  reader,  not  of  newspapers 
or  light  literature  but  of  the  very  best  class  of  books  as 
biography,  history,  and  theology.  He  was  poor  and  had 
only  a  small  library  but  it  contained  a  choice  selection. 
His  early  training  had  been  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  but 
when  only  a  young  man  he  became  a  Covenanter,  and  all 
through  life  he  was  an  intelligent  member  and  a  most 
devoted  Christian,  always  able  to  maintain  his  principles 
and  ever  ready  to  propagate  them.  Large  in  public  spirit 
he  was  always  active  in  all  the  benevolent  schemes  of  the 
church.  His  greatest  excellence,  as  it  always  seemed  to 
me,  was  his  warm  personal  piety.  He  was  a  loving  and 
devout  disciple  who  walked  with  God,  and  a  man  of  faith 
and  of  prayer.  He  was  too  good  to  be  appreciated  except 
by  the  good;  and  he  was  not  without  enemies.  As  an 
elder  he  was  regarded  by  some  as  too  strict  and  too  ready 
to  resort  to  discipline;  but  after  long  years  of  association 
with  him  in  the -session  I  regard  that  estimate  of  his  char- 
acter as  incorrect  if  not  unjust.  It  evidently  arose  from 
lack  of  knowledge  of  the  man  or  from  loose  views  of  the 
design  or  character  of  discipline.  And  yet  he  was  not 
infallible  as  an  elder.  However,  I  can  now  recall  only 
one  case  in  which  he  erred  in  judgment. 


THE    FLOCK    AND    THK   SHEPHERD'S    WORK.  167 

Mr.  Keenaii  was  my  warm  personal  friend;  and  he  was 
a  faithful  friend.  I  can  remember  at  least  two  times  in 
which  he  decidedly  disapproved  of  his  pastor's  action;  the 
one  in  the  time  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  when  he  told 
me  that  he  feared  I  preached  too  often  on  themes  connected 
with  slavery,  and  the  government,  and  the  war;  the  other 
when  I  resigned  my  pastoral  charge.  He  said  to  me  that 
he  thought  I  was  making  a  great  mistake.  Not  many 
years  afterwards  I  was  ready  to  confess  that  his  judgment 
was  superior  to  my  own.  And  I  may  add  here  that  he 
was  a  man  of  fine  taste.  An  illustration  is  at  hand.  At 
our  first  visit  to  Topsham  after  the  dissolution  of  the  pas- 
toral relation,  my  wife  asked  him  for  his  signature  in  her 
autograph  album.  He  wrote  as  follows:  "The  Elder 
Daniel  Keenan  to  the  elect  lady  and  her  children  whom 
I  love  in  the  truth."     Our  two  little  daughters  were  with  us. 

I  never  afterwards  saw  my  dear  old  friend  except  once 
when  on  another  visit  to  tlie  place  I  loved  so  well.  We 
had  several  protracted  interviews,  and  they  were  precious. 
During  the  last  and  when  we  were  walking  through  a  long 
and  dense  grove  or  native  forest  near  his  own  home  he 
talked  sadly  of  the  condition  of  the  church,  and  when  he 
told  me  his  own  personal  troubles  he  wept  like  a  child. 
When  we  had  to  part — and  we  parted  in  that  beautiful 
forest  clothed  in  richest  August  foliage— he  spoke  words 
of  warmest  affection  and  invoked  God's  blessing  upon  me 
as  he  uttered  his  final'  farewell.  We  knew  we  would  not 
meet  again  on  this  side  of  the  river.  Not  long  afterwards 
I  heard  of  his  death.  One  of  God's  dear  children  had 
passed  into  the  paradise  whither  Jesus  went. 

Josiah  DivoU  both  as  a  man  and  as  an  elder  was  quite 
diiferent  from  Father  Keenan.  He  had  some  excellencies 
as  well  as  some  faults  not  belonging  to  the  other.  He  was 
intellectual  but  limited  in  education.     As  a  farmer  he  was 


l68  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE    SUNSET   LAND. 

industrious  and  frugal;  and  be  was  always  ready  to  give 
for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Exceedingly  quiet  in  his  demeanor, 
if  not  also  diffident  in  disposition,  he  was  not  ambitious  to 
be  a  public  leader,  yet  he  was  always  ready  to  follow  in  any 
good  work.  He  was  a  genuine  Christian  and  of  undoubted 
piet)',  but  his  most  manifest  excellence  was  his  natural 
amiability.  He  was  a  Melancthon  rather  than  a  Luther. 
Hence  though  he  had  the  spirit  of  a  reformer,  in  the  session 
he  was  not  so  much  a  leader  as  a  balance  wheel  and  a 
peace-maker.  Indeed,  he  was  so  averse  to  whatever  had 
the  semblance  of  strife  it  is  questionable  whether  ever  there 
would  have  been  any  discipline  exercised  by  the  session 
if  other  elders  had  not  taken  the  lead  in  enforcing  the  law 
of  Christ's  house.  Yet  Elder  Divoll  was  a  standard-bearer. 
Few  men  in  the  congregation,  if  any  whatever,  had  as  much 
influence  for  good.  Generally  he  was  an  umpire.  He  was 
always  ready  to  help  in  a  good  cause;  and  in  all  cases  when 
money  was  needed  for  church  purposes  his  contribution  or 
subscription  was  the  largest.  And  he  remembered  the  poor. 
If  more  is  due  to  his  memory  I  may  add  that  all  the  while 
he  was  an  intelligent  and  zealous  Covenanter.  He  was  of 
Baptist  parentage,  and  most  of  his  brothers  being  politicians 
or  opposed  to  the  Covenanter  position  of  political  dissent, 
his  faith  was  often  tried,  yet  to  the  end  he  was  a  faithful 
Covenanter.  As  a  reformer  he  was  zealous;  and  after  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  he  was  the  most  interested  in 
the  cause  of  Anti-secrecy.     He  hated  the  lodge  system. 

I  will  be  forgiven  if  I  err  in  alluding  to  his  personal 
regard  to  his  pastor.  Always  kind,  always  confidential, 
and  always  faithful,  I  knew  he  was  a  friend.  Hence  when 
he  was  called  to  endure  sore  afflictions  my  heart  went  out 
in  sympathy  with  him  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  do  what  I 
could  for  him  and  his.  When  the  Civil  War  broke  out 
he  gave  his  two  and  only  sons,  Charles  and  Morris,  to  the 


THK   PivOCK   AND   THE   SHEPHE^^d'S   WORK.  169 

conflict.  I  think  he  did  not  desire  them  to  enlist,  but 
when  they  wished  to  be  soldiers  and  did  enlist  he  gave 
at  least  tacit  consent.  The  sequel  will  be  found  on  a  sub- 
sequent page. 

Of  the  fourth  ruling  elder,  Horace  Divoll,  I  need  not 
write  at  length.  He  was  a  good  man  but  very  peculiar  in 
his  character  and  church  deportment.  He  had  some  most 
excellent  traits  of  Christian  character,  but  he  could  never 
have  been  a  good  Covenanter,  and  he  was  not  fit  for  the 
eldership.  My  first  estimate  of  him  I  find  in  my  journal  of 
May,  1852,  when  I  wrote  thus:  "Called  this  evening  a  short 
time  on  one  of  the  elders  of  the  congregation.  I  find  him 
very  familiar  with  his  Bible  and  very  conversant  with  the 
doctrines  of  grace,  which  speaks  very  highly  of  him  as  a 
Christian;  but  he  is  very  ignorant  of  many  other  points.  He 
knows  almost  nothing  about  the  state  of  society,  or  the 
geography  of  the  country,  and  he  knows  very  little  about 
the  history  of  the  church  and  scarcely  anything  about  her 
present  condition.  Pity  to  see  so  worthy  and  apparently 
pious  man  so  limited  in  intelligence.  He  takes  no  period- 
ical or  paper.     How  can  he  but  be  ignorant?" 

A  few  years  afterwards  he  married  a  Baptist  wife,  an 
excellent  woman,  but  as  she  was  of  superior  ability  and 
withal  a  very  zealous  and  firm  Baptist  who  had  no  love  to 
Reformed  Presbyterians,  she  was  no  help  to  him  as  a  Cov- 
enanter and  ruling  elder.  The  result  was  his  leaving  the 
church  or  his  suspension  from  membership  partly  because 
of  his  erroneous  views  on  baptism  and  partly  because  he  did 
not  agree  with  his  own  church  on  the  subject  of  civil  gov- 
ernment. Though  he  did  not  unite  with  the  Baptist  Church, 
for  he  could  not  acknowledge  that  his  adult  baptism  was 
invalid,  yet  he  never  returned  to  the  Covenanter  Church. 
Thus  the  congregation  had  only  three  ruling  elders.  After- 
wards his  place  was  filled  by  the  election  of  Deacon  Parker 


lyo  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

McNiece.  Tnis  new  elder  wa.s  a  man  of  great  worth,  true 
to  bis  principles,  loyal  to  his  church,  and  a  warm  friend  of 
his  pastor.  But  as  a  man  and  as  an  elder  he  was  not  the 
equal  of  the  two  senior  elders  described  above.  Yet  there 
was  something  in  the  natural  temperament  of  Elder  Mc- 
Niece, and  he  was  so  tender  in  his  feelings  and  so  kind  and 
affectionate,  I  loved  him  dearly.  He  was  a  great  admirer  of 
his  nephew.  Rev.  Dr.  Sloane,  who  often  visited  Topsham, 
his  native  town;  and  the  doctor  always  made  his  home  with 
his  Uncle  Parker. 

After  Deacon  McNiece  was  made  elder  another  deacon 
was  chosen,  Robert  Mclyam,  of  Scotch  parentage  and  for 
integrity  and  trustworthiness  fit  to  be  not  only  a  deacon  but 
a  prince  or  a  president.  Yet  he  was  limited  in  education 
and  not  well-read,  but  by  no  means  a  novice.  Having 
faithfully  performed  the  duties  of  the  deacon  for  several 
years,  and  after  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  had  become  so 
serious  that  there  was  urgent  call  for  more  soldiers,  he  vol- 
unteered and  joined  the  Vermont  6th  Regiment  and  went 
into  the  Virginia  division.  Some  years  after  his  return  and 
after  the  death  of  his  wife  he  was  elected  to  the  eldership. 
After  a  while  when  both  needed  a  companion  in  their  declin- 
ing years  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Caldwell.  The  new 
pair  lived  in  lovely  harmony  and  increased  usefulness  and 
were  ycleped  "Uncle  Robert"  and  "Aunt  Sallie,"  loved  and 
honored  by  all.  With  only  a  few  others  he  survived  to 
help  to  bear  aloft  the  old  blue  banner  more  worthy  of  his 
honor  than  that  under  which  he  carried  a  musket  in  many  a 
hard-fought  battle  against  the  Slave-holders'  Rebellion.* 

A  year  or  so  after  my  settlement  in  Topsham  the  con- 

*  Since  the  above  was  written  I  have  learned  that  Elder  McLam 
has  gone  back  upon  his  Hfe-long  profession  and  gone  over  to  the 
"New  Lights."  Had  "Aunt  Sallie"  been  living  I  think  she  would 
not  have  gone  with  him. 


THE    FLOCK    AND    THE    SHEPHERD'S    WORK.  I71 

gregation  manifested  much  liberality  in  buying  a  paisonage 
which  we  were  glad  to  make  our  home.  It  had  a  nice 
garden,  a  good  stable,  and  carriage  shed.  The  garden  gave 
me  outdoor  healthful  exercise,  the  wood-shed  with  the  big 
piles  of  cordwood  plenty  of  athletics  without  either  bat  or 
ball  or  broken  bones,  and  the  stable  plenty  of  room  for 
horse  and  buggy  or  "cutter."  All  that  the  parson  needed 
to  have  a  "full  rig"  with  which  to  brave  the  snow  drifts 
was  a  fur  coat  and  another  buffalo  robe. 

However,  when  on  any  special  occasion,  as  a  funeral  or 
wedding  or  any  appointment  which  compelled  me  to  buffet 
the  snowstorms  when  the  mercury  might  be  down  to  freez- 
ing point,  as  I  saw  it  two  or  three  times  in  Vermont,  I  had 
several  good  neighbors  who  were  ever  ready  to  offer  me 
another  buffalo  robe  or  a  fur  coat.  Indeed,  every  one  in 
that  quiet  and  peaceful  village  nestled  among  the  hills 
seemed  to  be  a  kind  neighbor.  The  people  differed  widely 
in  their  religious  faith,  and  some  had  none  at  all,  but  I  dare 
to  say  that  in  pure  kind  neighborship  it  would  compare 
favorably  with  Drumtochty. 

I  loved  my  home.  Few  pastors  ever  have  a  better.  With 
a  beloved  helper  as  pure  and  good  and  faithful  as  natural 
amiability  and  unassuming  piety  could  make  her,  and  with 
a  loving  little  flock,  and  so  many  beautiful  lambs,  to  lead 
and  feed  which  was  a  pure  delight,  I  had  everything  for 
which  to  live  and  labor.  Indeed,  it  was  an  almost  ideal 
New  England  home.  The  flock  I  loved  so  well  was  not 
of  my  own  choosing;  it  was  assigned  to  me  by  the  Good 
Shepherd  as  indicated  by  the  choice  of  the  people  who 
needed  a  pastor.  The  parsonage,  not  far  from  the  c^hurch, 
was  at  the  head  of  the  main  street,  and  on  a  road  that 
led  out  to  beautiful  natural  forests  through  which  flowed 
as  pure  and  delightful  trout  brooks  as  anywhere  refresh 
and   beautify   the   earth.     In   the   privacy  of  the   summer 


172  tOOKING   BACK   FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

forest  or  beside  those  little  noisy  streams  I  loved  to  j amble; 
and  many  a  sweet  meditation  was  there  enjoyed  or  sermon 
studied.  In  the  sugar  maple  grove  on  the  hillside  how 
often  did  we,  like  happy  children,  gather  spring  flowers. 
And  how  many  of  those  dear  friends  who  rambled  with  us 
have  been  taken  up  to  the  paradise  of  God  where  flowers 
never  fade. 

Across  the  street  opposite  the  parsonage  lived  "Squire 
George"  and  his  family  of  wife  and  youthful  son  and 
daughter.  They  were  as  good  neighbors  as  ever  a  pastor 
had,  though  he  by  no  means  subscribed  to  the  Westminster 
standards.  Whether  he  believed  in  the  inspiration  of  the 
Word  of  God  at  all  is  very  uncertain.  But  he  was  not 
only  a  good  neighbor  but  a  most  intelligent  citizen  and 
reformer.  Though  for  several  years  after  the  settlement 
of  the  pastor  none  of  the  family  w^ere  members  of  the  church 
yet  they  owned  a  pew  and  were  regularly  there  on  Sabbaths. 
Mr.  George  was  passionately  fond  of  sacred  music.  The 
precentor,  Robert  McNiece,  was  a  fine  singer.  "Squire 
George"  was  a  great  bass  singer  and  could  sing  any  tune 
the  precentor  introduced.  He  always  had  his  old  psalm 
book  and  sang  with  the  Covenanters  as  if  he  were  as  devout 
as  the  most  sincere  w^orshiper.  When  the  congregation 
employed  a  music  teacher  and  met  weekly  for  practise  he 
was  always  there  and  led  ofi"  on  the  bass.  Among  the 
hearers  of  the  Gospel  none  seemed  more  attentive  than 
he.  In  early  life  he  was  a  school-teacher.  In  later  years 
he  was  a  magistrate,  and  then  a  member  of  the  legislature. 
"Squire^George"  never  slept  in  church;  and  full  well  did  the 
preacher  know  that  if  any  mistake  would  be  made  in  Eng- 
lish grammar  or  in  history  the  old  teacher  would  detect  it. 
And  if  the  Covenanter  preacher  had  deviated  from  the 
"good  old  paths"  or  introduced  any  "new-fangled"  dog- 
mas, the  old  bass  singer  would  be  ready  to  sound  the  alarm 


THE   FLOCK   AND   THE   SHEPHERD'S   WORK.  1 73 

for  he  knew  the  whole  Covenanter  creed  and  practise.  But 
he  did  not  care  so  much  to  hear  orthodox  theology  or  even 
"Gospel  sermons"  as  reform  discourses.  As  an  intelligent 
enemy  to  the  drink  habit  or  the  liquor  traffic  he  had  no 
superior.  In  his  hatred  of  slavery  and  in  his  advocacy 
of  "free  soil  and  free  men"  few  Abolitionists  were  more 
earnest.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  except  when  the 
teetotal  pulpit  and  the  anti-slavery  pastor  preached  the 
duty  of  dissent  from  a  pro-slavery  constitution  and  a  slave- 
holding  government  he  was  not  tempted  to  fear  the  criti- 
cisms of  the  pew  of  ' '  Squire  George. ' ' 

Near  to  this  was  the  pew  of  Judge  Tabor,  a  man  of  rare 
intelligence  and  in  his  reform  principles  similar  to  "Squire 
George,"  and  if  possible  a  more  critical  hearer;  but  he  was 
a  Universalist  of  long  standing  and  always  ready  for  con- 
troversy. A  kind  neighbor,  a  man  of  public  spirit,  and 
long  prominent  in  politics,  he  was  one  of  the  most  influen- 
tial citizens  in  the  whole  town.  Accompanied  by  his  wife, 
an  excellent  Methodist  woman,  he  was  always  in  his  pew 
and  willingly  hearing  all  kinds  of  preaching  except  against 
the  doctrine  of  Universalism.  And  if  on  any  Sabbath  he 
heard  the  contrary  doctrines  he  was  sure  to  be  ready  for 
criticism  the  first  time  he  would  meet  the  preacher.  He 
was  familiar  with  every  verse  in  the  Bible  upon  which 
Universalists  depend;  but  he  was  always  courteous  and 
pleasant  in  our  conversations,  and  I  had  few  warmer  per- 
sonal friends  or  better  neighbors.  Besides  these  prominent 
men  there  were  quite  a  number  of  pew-holders  or  regular 
hearers  who  were  Universalists,  or  silent  infidels,  or  mem- 
bers of  the  evangelical  churches  who  had  no  other  place 
to  worship.  One  of  these  was  an  old  Scotchman  of  rare 
intelligence  and  of  undoubted  piety,  but  also  a  very  rigid 
and  zealous  Baptist.  His  wife  was  a  Covenanter,  and  he 
owned  a  pew,  so  that  I  always  expected   to  see  old  John 


174     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

Renfrew  in  his  place.  Thus  the  reader  will  readily  see 
that  if  the  Topsham  pastor  was  controlled  by  the  fear  of 
men  he  would  be  easily  ensnared.  Yet  such  was  the  great 
variety  of  hearers  that  no  way  was  left  for  him  but  to  declare 
the  whole  counsel  of  God  and  leave  the  results  with  him. 
And  one  of  the  greatest  helpers  to  faithfulness  was  the  ever- 
present  assurance  that  the  well-informed  and  faithful  Cov- 
enanters expected  their  pastor  to  be  true,  in  the  pulpit  and 
out  of  it,  to  the  principles  of  the  church.  Next  to  the 
approbation  of  the  Master,  this  was  an  incentive  to  faithful- 
ness, and  for  that  incentive  I  ever  owed  a  debt  of  gratitude. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Field  Widens. 

During  my  first  winter  in  Topsham  there  was  throughout 
the  state  much  interest  in  the  cause  of  temperance.  Maine 
had  recently  adopted  its  liquor  law.  This  was  the  occasion 
of  a  revival  of  interest  in  the  reform,  and  its  friends  deter- 
mined to  spare  no  effort  to  secure  a  state  prohibitory  law  as 
good  as  that  of  Maine.  My  good  neighbor,  '  'Squire  George, ' ' 
became  an  active  worker  and  an  occasional  lecturer.  By  his 
importunity  the  new  pastor  was  pressed  into  the  service  so 
far  as  to  join  him  in  holding  "Maine  law"  meetings  in 
different  parts  of  the  town.  It  was  the  winter  season  and 
sleighing  good.  All  I  had  to  do  was  to  get  into  his  "rig" 
with  him  and  at  the  meeting  make  one  of  the  speeches. 
Mine  was  always  short  for  he  was  master  of  the  subject  and 
an  able  logician.  I  was  not  much  needed,  but  the  Judge 
thought  that  if  he  would  take  the  new  preacher  with  him 
more  people  would  attend.  However,  the  result  was  that  I 
became  greatly  interested  in  the  movement,  helped  forward 
a  good  cause,  and  formed  acquaintance  with  the  people  in 
the  different  parts  of  the  town. 

The  agitation  was  widespread  all  over  the  state,  and  the  re- 
sult was  that  at  the  next  legislature  an  act  was  passed  giving 
the  people  the  opportunity  to  vote  at  "the  March  meetings" 
for  or  against  the  bill  afterwards  called  '  'the  Vermont  liquor 
law."  In  some  respects  it  is  better  than  the  Maine  law. 
At  the  election  the  people  by  a  very  large  majority  voted  for 
it  and  it  subsequently  became  a  law.     When  it  went  into 

(175) 


176      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

force  ever}^  saloon  and  every  bar  in  the  Green  Mountain  state 
was  closed.  They  remain  closed,  abolished;  and  a  drunkard 
is  almost  never  seen.  Now,  after  more  than  a  generation, 
the  state  is  wholly  revolutionized  and  is  a  genuine  prohibi- 
tion state. 

\'ermont  Covenanters  generally  voted  for  the  Vermont 
law.  How  came  this?  Are  they  not  non- voters?  Yes,  but 
not  always.  This  was  an  exception  and  rightly,  w^hich  will 
appear  from  a  statement  of  the  facts.  According  to  the 
constitution  of  that  state  there  is  a  diiference  between  the 
ordinary  state  elections  and  those  called  "the  March  meet- 
ings." At  these  when  home  matters  only  are  attended  to, 
such  as  repairing  the  roads,  building  new  schoolhouses, 
taking  care  of  the  town's  poor,  etc.,  all  the  men  in  the  town 
may  vote,  i.  e.,  all  persons  living  in  the  town,  whether  aliens 
or  native  born,  whether  "freemen"  or  not,  whether 
registered  citizens  or  not.  In  Vermont  every  citizen,  before 
he  can  vote  at  any  state  election,  or  be  a  political  citizen  or 
member  of  the  state  political  body  called  government,  is 
required  to  take  a  citizen's  oath  or  the  "freeman's  oath." 
But  at  the  March  meetings  all  men  over  twenty-one,  whether 
"freemen"  or  not,  are  or  may  be  voters.  At  these  meet- 
ings Covenanters  always  voted.  Some  of  them  had  been  of 
foreign  birth  and  never  were  naturalized.  These  as  all 
others  were  voters.  Thus  the  state  provides  that  all  persons 
living  in  the  town,  irrespective  of  political  relation,  and  all 
dissenters  from  the  government,  may  vote  on  all  local  or 
town  questions.  So  Covenanters  could  vote  and  did  vote  on 
the  question  submitted  to  all  other  adults  as  well  as  freemen, 
and  thus  they  helped  to  make  Vermont  a  prohibition  state; 
and  in  the  little  Green  Mountain  state  "prohibition  does 
prohibit. ' ' 

About  this  time  or  probably  the  next  winter  I  was 
reluctantly  drawn  into  a  public  debate  on  the  question  of 


THE    FIELD   WIDENS.  177 

slavery,  A  3'oung  man,  a  son  of  a  Congregationalist,  a 
native  of  the  town  of  Corinth  and  who  had  received  his 
education  in  the  state,  had  gone  into  the  south  and  became 
an  attorney.  Here  he  had  been  ' '  bought  up ' '  by  the  slave- 
holders. Returning  home  on  a  visit  he  was  anxious  to 
convince  his  old  friends  and  companions  that  their  anti- 
slavery  notions  were  all  erroneous,  and  that  slavery  was  a 
good  thing  and  Abolitionists  fanatics.  Learning  that  the 
pastor  of  the  ' '  Presbyterian  Church  ' '  in  Topsham  was  an 
Abolitionist,  through  some  of  his  friends  who  wished  to 
hear  such  a  discussion  he  invited  or  challenged  me  to  a 
debate.  After  persuasion  by  my  friends  I  consented  to  meet 
him  in  public.  The  people  arranged  to  hold  the  meetings 
in  the  East  Corinth  Congregational  Church  about  four  miles 
south  of  Topsham  village.  I  do  not  now  remember  the 
statement  of  the  question  but  it  was  some  form  of  the 
question  in  dispute  between  anti-slavery  people  and  pro- 
slavery.  Some  leading  citizen  was  invited  to  preside  and 
decide  points  of  order.  The  rules  of  discussion  were  agreed 
upon  and  the  disputants  "went  at  it."  The  meetings 
continued  through  three  evenings.  The  house  was  crowded 
every  night  and  the  excitement  continued  to  increase  to  the 
end.  The  young  lawyer  proved  to  be  no  mean  debater. 
He  was  subtle  in  logic  and  he  was  eloquent.  If  he  had  had 
a  good  cause  he  might  have  carried  the  people  with  him; 
and  he  fought  as  one  determined  to  win  if  possible.  On  the 
other  hand  I  had  the  advantage  of  him  in  this,  that  I  knew 
I  was  called  to  advocate  the  truth  and  a  great  cause,  and 
that  I  had  the  sympathy  or  favor  of  the  mass  of  the  people 
whose  applause  of  the  anti-slavery  sentiments  maintained 
increased  as  the  debate  progressed.  At  the  close  of  the 
third  evening's  discussion,  when  the  whole  audience  was  in 
the  height  of  the  agitation,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
previous  arrangement,  the  question  (not  the  debate)  was  put 
12 


178  LOOKIIsG    BACK    FROM    THE   .SUNSET    LAND. 

to  the  people.  The  anti-slavery  vote  was  almost  unanimous 
and  was  followed  by  long-continued  applause.  Of  course 
the  Topsham  Covenanters  went  home  rejoicing.  But  that 
vote  was  by  New  England  men  and  women  in  a  state  that 
had  never  been  cursed  with  slavery  and  from  which  almost 
no  fugitive  slave  had  ever  been  returned  to  his  master. 
Since  those  three  nights  of  defense  of  freedom  and  of  the 
divine  law  of  liberty,  forty-four  years  have  passed  away, 
and  how  wonderful  the  change  ! 

I  should  have  said  in  the  paragraph  above  that  the 
pro-slavery  lawyer  in  his  defense  of  the  "patriarchal  insti- 
tution," as  slavery  was  sometimes  called,  used  the  old 
arguments  drawn  from  the  Scriptures,  both  old  and  new, 
following  the  example  of  the  southern  divines  who  had 
always  labored  hard  to  show  that  the  law  of  Moses  and 
the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  authorized  slave- 
holding;  and  they  all  agreed  that  the  relation  of  slave  and 
master  was  lawful  and  that  the  sin  was  only  in  the  abuse 
of  the  system;  and  they  all  insisted  that  if  the  owner  of 
slaves,  few  or  many,  would  be  kind  to  them  and  not  sepa- 
rate families,  he  had  a  right  to  own  and  buy  or  sell  as 
many  as  he  saw  fit.  In  defense  of  this  theory,  what  Dr. 
Gamaliel  Bailey,  editor  of  the  National  Era,  called,  'dam- 
nable philosophy,"  they  had  certain  portions  of  the  Bible 
worn  threadbare.  These  passages  I  had  studied  carefully 
years  ago;  and  before  going  into  the  debate  with  the  cham- 
pion of  slavery  I  had  studied  them  afresh  and  felt  able  to 
show  from  the  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Greek 
of  the  New  that  they  all  were  written  in  the  interest  of  the 
poor  against  the  rich,  and  for  the  defense  of  the  servant 
against  the  master,  but  never — not  one  of  them  ever — in 
justification  of  any  man  holding  property  in  his  fellow-man 
or  compelling  another,  not  chargeable  with  crime,  to  work 
without  wages  for  a  master.     And   I   thank    God    for  the 


THE   FIELD   WIDENS.  1 79 

belief  I  had  during  that  whole  debate  that  I  was  able  to 
convince  all  unprejudiced  people  present  that  nowhere  in 
the  Bible  can  be  found  any  justifica  ti  c  of  "involuntary 
servitude"  (except  for  crime)  or  of  ownership  of  human 
beings.  And  I  may  be  pardoned  for  addi'ig  here  that  all 
my  subsequent  life  I  was  impatient  with  fellow-Christians 
who  believed  that  the  law  of  Moses  permitted  slaveholding 
of  any  kind.  Besides,  it  is  not  so  very  strange  that  some  of 
the  old  Abolitionists,  influenced  by  the  teaching  of  the 
pro-slavery  divines,  became  infidels  or  unbelievers  in  the 
inspiration  of  the  Bible. 

In  only  the  wealthy  and  most  densely  populated  towns 
of  Vermont  were  there  good  academies  or  schools  for  those 
who  wished  more  education  than  the  public  schools  afforded. 
As  Topsham  had  no  such  academy  many  of  the  youth  went 
to  other  towns  for  their  advanced  education  or  to  be  pre- 
pared for  college.  Thus  when  any  of  the  Covenanter  young 
people  of  Topsham  went  from  home  to  attend  an  academy 
they  were  not  only  out  of  the  bounds  of  the  congregation 
but  exposed  to  the  ordinary  temptations  that  so  often  draw 
youth  or  others  awa)"  from  the  truth.  We  had  not  been 
in  Topsham  more  than  two  or  three  j'ears  when  I  was  asked 
by  Elder  Josiah  Di^^oll  and  others  to  give  lessons  in  aca- 
demic studies  to  their  children.  He  had  two  sons  and  two 
daughters  who  wished  more  than  a  common  school  educa- 
tion. As  I  saw  the  youth  going  away  from  home  and  as 
I  desired  to  make  it  easier  for  them  to  study  at  home,  I 
yielded  to  the  appeals  of  the  parents;  and  when  the  winter 
season  opened  I  received  a  small  class  of  students.  I  heard 
the  recitations  in  my  study  in  the  forenoons.  Sul)sequently 
I  taught  such  students  during  the  spring  and  fall  terms 
when  the  public  schools  were  closed.  This  accommodated 
teachers  and  such  as  wished  to  attend  the  common  schools. 
These  private  classes  soon  increased  in  size  so  that  I  had 


l8o  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

to  employ  an  assistant  teacher  or  permit  my  own  time  to 
be  too  much  taken  up.  I  preferred  the  former;  and  then 
we  heard  the  students  thou.^h  at  different  hours  in  a  large 
room  not  far  from  the  parsonage.  The  school  became 
popular,  and  not  a  few  of  the  youth  besides  those  from 
Covenanter  families  became  students,  and  others  from  neigh- 
boring towns  entered  what  was  now  called  "The  Topsbam 
High  School."  And  as  some  were  teachers,  and  manj' 
intended  to  be  teachers,  it  was  sometimes  called  the 
"  Topsham  Normal  School." 

What  first  led  to  the  teaching  of  a  class  has  been  stated 
above.  There  were  additional  reasons  for  continuing  the 
school  for  several  \'ears,  though  there  were  only  two  short 
sessions  per  year  of  about  two  and  a  half  months  each. 
The  school  brought  to  the  pastor  a  little  revenue  which 
helped  him  to  meet  necessary  outlaj^s  and  to  support  the 
family  with  a  salary  of  only  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 
The  necessary  review  of  studies  and  the  teaching  of  such 
students  were  helps  to  the  right  performance  of  pastoral 
duties.  And  especially,  the  school  brought  together  such 
an  excellent  class  of  youth  who  became  acquainted  and 
attached,  it  was  the  occasion  of  bringing  into  the  Sabbath- 
school  and  church  quite  a  number  of  most  excellent  young 
people.  Bej'ond  doubt  the  pastor's  influence  for  good  was 
much  increased.  Quite  a  number  of  the  students  became 
useful  teachers,  some  entered  professional  life,  one  is  in 
the  ministry,  several  fell  on  the  battle-field;  and  not  one 
as  far  as  I  know  ever  disgraced  his  school  or  his  teach er^- 
nay,  rather,  of  many  of  them  we  are  proud  as  beloveo.  and 
honored  workers  in  the  church  and  in  the  fields  of  reform 
or  as  useful  parents  in  Christian  families. 

During  two  years  about  this  time  I  was  called  to  the 
position  of  school  superintendent,  chosen  by  the  people 
of  the  town  (township;  at  their  March  meetings  when  all 


THE    FlEtD   WIDENS.  l8l 

voted  whether  "freemen"  or  not.  No  oath  of  office  was 
required.  The  duties  were  not  onerous.  They  consisted 
mostly  in  examining  teachers,  visiting  the  schools  once  per 
term,  and  holding  teachers'  institutes  occasionally.  These 
duties  brought  me  into  contact  more  or  less  with  the  friends 
of  education  and  with  teachers;  and  thus  again  the  pastor's 
usefulness,  as  he  hoped,  was  increased. 

During  nearly  all  the  years  of  my  pastorate  in  Vermont  I 
preached  occasionally  by  appointment  of  Presbytery  in  the 
town  of  Fayston  where  there  were  three  or  four  families  of 
Covenanters,  all  intelligent  and  influential.  It  was  a  prom- 
ising mission  station.  Occasionally  it  was  visited  by  the 
other  Vermont  pastors.  Fayston  was  about  forty  miles  west 
of  Topsham  and  near  the  pastern  slope  of  the  Green  Moun- 
tain range.  The  ride  thither  was  most  beautiful  and  health- 
ful. It  led  through  Montpelier,  the  vState  capital  and  the 
half-way  resting-place.  The  most  influential  of  the  Fayston 
Covenanters  was  Dsacon  Strong.  He  had  been  a  deacon  in 
the  Congregational  Church,  but  marrying  Miss  Divoll,  a 
sister  of  Elder  Josiah  Divoll,  of  Topsham,  and  an  intelligent 
Covenanter,  he  accepted  Reformation  principles  and  became 
a  zealous  Covenanter.  They  were  members  of  Topsham 
congregation.  Whether  she  was  the  instrument  or  the 
occasion  of  his  conversion  I  do  not  now  remember.  This 
much,  however,  I  do  know,  that  Deacon  Strong  was  a  man 
of  great  ability,  rare  excellence,  and  genuine  piety,  and 
withal  a  most  zealous  defender  of  the  faith.  He  had  qual- 
ifications sufficient  to  make  him  a  great  leader  in  any  good 
cause,  but  for  want  of  opportunities  his  sphere  of  influence 
was  limited  almost  to  the  mountain  town  in  which  he  lived. 

In  the  adjacent  town  of  Waitsfield  the  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  was  a  strong  anti-slavery  man  but  he 
advocated  the  "Goodell  theory,"  or  the  "Spooner  theory," 
that   the    Constitution    of    the    U.    S.    was    an  anti-slavery 


182  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    I.ANl). 

document,  and  that  those  sections  commonly  called  pro- 
slavery  compromises  were  not  made  in  the  interest  of  slavery 
but  could  and  should  be  understood  and  interpreted  as  anti- 
slavery.  Some  who  accepted  this  theory  held  or  professed 
to  hold  that  notwithstanding  those  pro-slavery  clauses 
Congress  had  power  to  abolish  slavery.  This  theory  was 
advocated  by  Hon.  Gerrit  Smith.  Deacon  Strong  and  the 
Waitsfield  minister  were  intimate  friends  but  outspoken 
and  constant  disputants  as  to  the  duty  or  sinfulness  of  voting 
under  the  Constitution.  And  so  it  happened  that  my  good 
friend,  Deacon  Strong,  wishing  the  truth  to  be  disseminated, 
challenged  the  Congregationalist  minister  to  debate  the 
question  (as  to  the  character  of  the  Constitution)  with  the 
Covenanter  pastor  from  Topshanj.  This  arrangement  was 
made  without  my  knowledge  as  he  confidently  expected 
that  I  would  agree  to  do  whatever  he  would  ask  of  me.  I 
consented  to  his  plans  and  it  was  arranged  to  hold  the  dis- 
cussion in  the  Waitsfield  Congregational  Church.  The 
statement  of  the  question  and  the  terms  or  rules  of  the 
debate  were  agreed  upon  and  the  time  fixed  on  the  next 
week  in  which  I  was  expected  to  preach  in  Fayston.  When 
the  time  came  the  community  was  on  tiptoe  of  expectation 
and  the  large  church  was  full  during  the  two  evenings  of 
the  debate;  I  do  not  remember  now,  if  I  knew  then,  how 
the  audience  was  divided  on  the  question,  or  how  they 
voted  or  would  have  voted  if  it  had  been  left  to  the  people 
present;  but  this  I  well  remember  that  at  the  time  I  felt 
confident  in  the  rightfulness  of  my  cause  and  almost  as  con- 
fident of  my  ability  to  maintain  it.  Years  ago  I  had  studied 
the  question,  and  I  had  made  myself  familiar  with  the 
unanswerable  argument  of  Wendell  Phillips  in  his  "Review 
of  Lysander  Spoaner."  Mr.  Phillips'  little  book  was  called 
"The  Constitution  a  Pro-slavery  Compact."  I  do  not  know 
the    result  of  the    debate    on    the    people   who   listened  so 


The  fiei<d  widens.  1^3 

intently  to  it,  but  I  remember  how  confident  the  Fayston 
Covenanters  were  that  the  truth  had  triumphed  and  how 
glad  they  were  that  the  discussion  had  taken  place. 

The  foregoing  narrative  briefly  illustrates  how  diversified 
were  the  sentiments  of  the  anti  slavery  people  of  the  North. 
The  great  majority  of  them  believed  slavery  to  be  a  sin  of 
grave  magnitude,  and  an  evil  which  threatened  to  destroy 
the  country  if  not  abolished;  but  they  thought  the  only 
thing  that  could  be  done  was  to  abide  by  the  compromises 
of  the  Constitution  but  not  permit  the  Southerners  to  gain 
new  slave  territory  or  take  their  slaves  into  any  place 
belonging  to  freedom.  To  prevent  the  extension  of  slave 
territory  and  to  secure  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  were  the  objects  of  the  Republican  party. 
There  was  no  declared  purpose  to  affect  the  abolition  of 
slavery  or  to  disturb  the  slave-holders  in  the  peaceable  pos- 
session of  their  property.  Then  there  were  those  who  hated 
slavery  so  much  and  whose  con'^ciences  would  not  permit 
them  to  vote  under  the  Constitution  if  it  tolerated  or  in  any 
way  supported  slavery  but  who  were  so  anxious  to  continue 
to  use  the  ballot  or  to  exercise  the  priceless  privilege  of  a 
citizenf!)  that  they  saw  no  way  to  do  this  but  to  adopt  the 
new  theory  that  the  Constitution  was  anti-slavery  as  defined 
above.  These  were  generally  called  "Gerrit  Smith  men," 
or  voting  Abolitionists.  Then  there  were  the  non-voting 
Abolitionists;  and  of  these  there  were  two  kinds,  the  Old- 
lyight  Covenanters  who  never  had  voted  under  the  pro- 
slavery  Constitution,  and  the  Garrisonians  who  were  called 
"Comeouters"  because  they  had  been  in  the  government 
and  accustomed  to  vote  but  now  had  come  out  and  refused 
to  vote  because  the  Constitution  was  a  "Covenant  with 
Death  and  an  Agreement  with  Hell,"  as  Mr.  Garrison  was 
accustomed  to  call  it.  But  as  Covenanters  had  never  been 
in  the  government  they  were  not  commonly  called   "Come- 


1^4     LOOKING  BACK  PROM  THE  SUNSET  I,ANr). 

outers."  From  the  first  they  had  refused  to  make  a  "Cov- 
enant with  Death,"  and  with  Hell  they  never  made  an 
agreement. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

In  Sorrow  and  in  Straits. 

Not  long  after  my  settlement  in  Vermont  I  was  called 
to  weep  with  my  only  sister  at  the  death  of  her  husband, 
Dr.  John  Carter,  of  Northwood,  Ohio,  whither  they  had 
removed  from  Bloomingdale  in  eastern  Ohio.  After  his 
death  my  mother  continued  to  make  her  home  with  her 
widowed  daughter.  It  was  a  sad  home— two  widowed 
women,  mother  and  daughter,  living  alone  except  that  the 
latter  had  a  Uttle  son,  Arthur  Carter,  and  her  only  surviving 
child.  To  this  dear  sister  sorrow  followed  sorrow.  On  the 
i8th  of  December,  1855,  my  mother  was  taken  to  her  heav- 
enly home.  Her  death  was  very  sudden.  Sister  Carter 
had  gone  to  the  evening  prayer-meeting  in  the  village, 
leaving  mother  and  the  son  Arthur  at  home,  for  the  night 
was  stormy  and  mother  was  suffering  with  a  cold  that  had 
brought  on  a  severe  cough.  While  sitting  at  the  fire  and 
while  coughing  violently,  sudden  and  very  profuse  hemor- 
rhage from  the  lungs  began.  Uttle  Arthur  ran  to  the 
prayer-meeting  to  tell  his  mother;  but  before  she  could 
reach  home,  unconsciousness  or  death  had  occurred.  The 
last  enemy  had  done  his  work  and  the  redeemed  soul  of  a 
lovely  saint  of  God  had  passed  within  the  veil  into  the 
beatific  presence  of  her  glorified  Saviour.  The  body  was 
laid  away  in  the  old  Miami  church-yard  beside  the  grave  of 
Dr.  Carter.  And  thus  sister  was  left  alone,  a  heart-broken 
orphan  and  widow.  Ever  afterwards  she  scarcely  knew 
aught  but  sorrow.     Her  letter  soon  brought  the  sad  intelU- 

(185) 


l86     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  I.AND. 

gence  to  me — to  me  whom  that  mother  used  to  call  her 
"  httle  Benjamin"  but  now  so  far  away  where  I  could 
hardly  be  reconciled  to  my  inability  to  close  her  eyes  in 
death  or  weep  at  her  grave.  Yet  from  that  time  forward 
heaven  seemed  nearer.  Separated  only  by  the  veil  beyond 
which  father  and  mother  had  passed,  they  seemed  not  far 
away. 

The  first  time  after  our  removal  to  Vermont  that  Eliza 
and  I  visited  our  friends  in  Ohio  we  brought  home  with  us 
sister  Carter  and  her  son.  She  came  to  spend  the  summer 
in  the  hope  that  the  invigorating  climate  would  be  beneficial 
to  her  in  her  broken-down  health.  We  did  all  we  could  to 
alleviate  her  sorrows;  and  we  had  while  she  was  with  us 
many  a  happy  time.  One  is  well  remembered.  Procuring 
a  second  horse  and  buggy  and  for  the  driver  that  most 
excellent  woman  and  sweet  Christian,  Miss  Maria  Grow, 
brought  out  of  the  world  into  the  Covenanter  Church  in 
Topsham,  we  visited  Wright's  Mountain  in  the  town  of 
B  ad  ford.  According  to  previous  arrangements  we  were 
met  on  the  summit  by  Rev.  Dr.  Silas  McKeen  and  wife. 
He  was  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  the 
village  of  Bradford.  Though  of  different  denominations  we 
had  become  intimate  friends.  He  was  a  Christian  of  rare 
worth.  On  that  beautiful  mountain-top  we  rambled,  we 
talked,  we  lunched  picnic  fashion,  prayed  together,  and,  at 
his  request,  sang  the  twenty-third  psalm.  It  was  good  to 
be  there — two  Congregationalists,  most  excellent  Christians, 
and  three  as  good  Covenanters  and  lovely  women  as  ever 
picnicked  together  on  mountain-top.  In  subsequent  years  it 
was  often  my  privilege  to  be  with  Dr.  McKeen  and  enjoy 
profitable  as  well  as  sweet  Christian  fellowship.  In  former 
years  he  had  been  intimate  with  other  Covenanter  ministers 
and  was  well  acquainted  with  our  principles.  He  was  a 
ver}'  strong  anti-Mason  and  had  at  one  time  resigned   his 


IM   SORROW    AND    IN    STrAII^S.  I §7 

charge  in  Bradford  because  Masons  were  in  the  church 
there.  Time  passed.  A  change  came;  and  the  old  pastor 
was  recalled.  He  was  too  good  a  man  to  be  in  any  other 
than  a  reforming  church.  Except  Arthur  Carter  all  of 
that  .select  company  have  passed  up  to  the  celestial  moun- 
tains leaving  me  behind  to  wait  for  my  invitation  to  join 
the  departed  saints  of  God. 

At  the  Synod  of  1856,  which  met  that  year  in  Philadelphia, 
I  was  placed  in  unexpected  and  trying  straits  where  I  did 
not  know  my  duty.  It  was  at  that  Synod  that  the  foreign 
mission  to  Syria  was  determined  upon  and  when  I  was 
chosen  to  be  the  co-laborer  of  Rev.  R.  J.  Dodds  in  that  field. 
As  the  facts  are  connected  with  the  beginning  of  our  foreign 
missions,  they  may  be  stated  briefly  as  nearly  as  I  can 
remember  them. 

After  Synod  had  resolved  to  engage  in  mission  work  in 
some  foreign  field  there  was  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  what 
field  it  should  be.  After  lengthy  discussion  it  was  finally 
decided  to  locate  the  mission  in  Northern  Syria.  This 
being  determined,  the  next  duty  was  to  appoint  two  mis- 
sionaries. It  was  done  by  nomination  (probably  ])y  a 
committee)  and  then  the  choice  by  ballot.  Rev.  John 
Crawford,  pastor  of  the  Baltimore  congregation,  was  chosen. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  missionaries 
elect  to  learn  whether  they  would  accept  the  appointment. 
The  next  day  the  committee  reported  that  Rev.  R.  J.  Dodds 
accepted  but  that  Rev.  Mr.  Crawford  did  not.  As  he  was 
in  feeble  health  he  had  consulted  his  physician  who  advised 
him  not  to  accept.  Mr.  Crawford  died  of  consumption 
about  three  months  afterwards.  Another  ballot  was  taken 
and  it  resulted  in  the  choice  of  the  pastor  of  Topsbam 
congregation.  It  was  not  unanimous,  a  few  ballots  being 
cast  for  Joseph  Beattie,  licentiate.  But  as  most  of  the  votes 
were  for  Rev.  N.  R.  Johnston,  on  motion  the  election  was 
made  unanimous. 


1 88  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

This  action  of  Synod  was  altogether  unexpected  by  me. 
It  suddenly  brought  me  into  a  great  strait.  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  Ever  after  I  entered  the  theological  seminary 
I  had  a  desire  to  be  a  foreign  missionary,  though  the  desire 
was  not  ver}^  strong.  The  church'  as  j^et  had  not  attempted 
the  foreign  work  and  had  not  called  for  laborers.  But  now 
the  time  had  come  and  I  must  decide  very  soon.  Shortly 
after  Synod  adjourned  that  afternoon,  my  beloved  Brother 
Dodds  came  to  ni}-  lodging-place  to  confer  with  me  in  refer- 
ence to  my  acceptance  of  the  appointment.  If  there  had 
been  no  obstacle  in  my  wa}^  I  would  not  have  needed  any 
persuasion.  Such  was  my  love  to  him,  and  I  knew  that 
mine  was  reciprocated,  and  such  was  my  desire  to  be  a 
missionar}^  in  some  foreign  field,  I  would  have  rejoiced  in 
the  opportunity  to  join  him  in  the  good  work.  He  remained 
with  me  all  the  evening  in  conference  on  the  question  then 
so  all-absorbing  to  me.  When  he  started  to  his  own  lodging 
I  walked  out  with  him  to  prolong  the  conversation.  It  was 
a  warm  evening,  and  the  full  moon  lighted  the  streets  ot 
Philadelphia.  We  walked  on  Chestnut  Street.'  We  walked 
up  aad  down,  up  and  down,  until  near  midnight,  he  using 
every  argument  and  inducement  to  persuade  me  to  accept 
the  appointment.  We  bade  each  other  good-night  with  the 
promise  to  make  the  matter  a  subject  of  special  prayer. 

Returning  to  my  lodging  I  retired  to  rest  but  not  to  sleep 
except  a  little.  The  most  of  the  remaining  hours  of  the 
night  were  spent  in  anxious  thought  and  in  prayer  for 
divine  direction.  Morning  came  but  I  was  j^et  undecided. 
Synod  would  meet  at  9  o'clock.  The  committee  would 
expect  me  to  tell  them  my  decision,  and  Synod  would  expect 
to  hear  the  report  of  the  committee  during  the  morning 
session.  Whether  in  answer  to  prayer  or  not  I  do  not  know, 
but  I  was  led  to  this  determination,  viz.,  that  as  I  believed 
hat  Mr.  Beattie  would  be  chosen  by  Synod  provided  I  would ' 


R.   J     DCDDS,    r.   D. 


IN   .SORROW    AND    IN   STRAITS.  1 89 

decline  the  appointment,  I  resolved  to  see  him  before  Sj^nod 
would  assemble  and  say  to  liitn  that  if  he  would  assure  me 
that  he  would  accept  the  appointment  in  case  I  would 
decline  it,  then  I  would  decide  not  to  go. 

Remembering  still  that  I  had  access  to  the  throne  of  grace 
I  hastened  to  seek  an  interview  with  Mr.  Beattie  before 
Synod  would  meet.  I  laid  my  case  before  him  and  said  that 
I  had  decided  that  if  he  would  assure  me  that  if  I  would 
decline  the  appointment  and  in  case  he  would  be  chosen,  he 
would  accept  it,  then  I  would  inform  the  committee  that  I 
could  n(?t  accept.  With  little  or  no  hesitation  he  replied 
affirmatively,  assuring  me  that  he  would  go.  My  decision 
was  made  and  much  of  my  anxiety  was  gone.  I  sought  the 
committee  or  rather  the  chairman  and  told  him  my  decision. 
During  the  forenoon  the  committee  reported  to  Synod. 
Shortly  afterwards  Mr.  Beattie  was  elected  and  subsequently 
accepted. 

My  friend  Dodds  was  disappointed.  He  and  Mr.  Beattie 
were  almost  strangers.  As  Mr.  Dodds  and  I  had  been  warm 
friends  so  long  it  was  only  reasonable  that  he  would  wish 
me  to  be  his  companion;  and  when  we  met  after  he  knew 
my  decision  he  almost  chided  me  for  my  unwillingness  to 
go.  But  our  Master  knew  what  was  best  for  us  both,  and 
for  the  cause  of  missions. 

As  some  who  may  read  these  lines  know  what  I  have  often 
written  and  said  in  reference  to  the  cause  of  foreign  mis- 
sions, I  owe  it  to  myself  and  others  to  put  on  record  the 
reasons  that  weighed  heavily  on  my  mind  to  cause  me  to 
decline  the  appointment  to  the  Syrian  mission.  The  most 
important  were  these: 

I.  The  ballot  was  not  unanimous,  and  I  knew  that 
several  of  the  prominent  members  of  Synod  wished  Mr. 
Beattie  to  be  sent.  Besides,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  cause 
of  missions  would  be  better  served  if  he  would  go.     He  was 


IQO  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSKT    LAND. 

several  years  younger;  he  was   fresh  from  studies,  having 
been  hcensed  only  one  week,  and  he  was  in  excellent  health. 

2.  My  brother.  Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston,  and  my  senior  by 
nearly  nineteen  years,  who  had  always  been  my  counselor, 
and  who  was  a  member  of  Synod  at  that  time,  did  not 
encourage  me,  though  he  did  not  positively  dissuade  me. 
I  do  not  now  remember  his  reasons  except  that  he  feared  the 
church  would  not  be  hearty  in  support  of  the  mission.  I 
did  not  know  it  then  but  I  learned  it  afterwards  that  he  was 
losing  confidence  in  the  church.  Within  two  years  he 
withdrew  from  her  fellowship  and  went  into  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church. 

3.  My  wife  was  in  very  feeble  health  and  probably 
unable  to  endure  a  sea  voyage  or  do  the  work  of  a  foreign 
missionary.  If  I  could  have  known  her  mind  she  might 
have  advised  me  to  accept  the  appointment;  but  she  was  at 
our  home  in  Vermont  and  so  far  away  it  was  impossible  for 
me  to  hear  from  her  in  time,  for  in  those  days  there  was  no 
communication  by  telegraph.  Under  these  circumstances 
I  could  not  accept  the  appointment  without  knowing  her 
wish  or  judgment. 

4.  Only  three  years  and  a  half  had  elapsed  since  I  was  in- 
stalled pastor  of  Topsham  congregation.  And  though  I 
knew  that  Synod  had  the  power  to  remove  me  and  send  me 
into  the  foreign  field,  I  did  not  desire  to  abandon  my  charge 
where  I  was  so  pleasantly  located  and  where  there  was  a 
prospect  of  successful  labor  if  continued  in  that  field. 

5.  But  the  greatest  reason  for  declining  the  appointment, 
and  a  reason  whose  force  I  could  not  resist,  was  the  fact 
that  the  mission  was  not  located  in  a  pagan  land  among 
idolaters  to  whom  the  gospel  had  not  been  preached. 
Whtn  the  question  of  location  was  before  Synod  I  opposed 
the  choice  of  Syria.  There  the  gospel  had  been  preached 
ages  ago;   there  Christianity   had  had   a  foothold  and  had 


IN    SORROW    AND    IN    STRAITS.  IQI 

gone  down  before  other  forces.  In  Syria  false  systems  other 
than  idolatrous  prevailed.  I  felt  sure  that  we  should  enter 
some  foreign  field  where  the  name  of  Christ  had  not  been 
named.  I  had  always  desired  to  preach  the  gospel  among 
idol  worshipers  whose  minds  had  not  been  poisoned  by  con- 
tact with  teachers  of  a  false  religion  other  than  pagan. 
Had  I  gone  to  Syria  I  might  have  labored  long  as  one  dis- 
satisfied with  his  field  and  thinking  that  some  other  would 
have  been  better. 

For  such  reasons  I  had  to  say  to  Synod,  Please  excuse  me 
and  send  the  young  brother  preferred  by  some;  and  for  such 
reasons  I  was  compelled  to  say  to  my  dear  brother  Dodds, 
whom  I  loved  as  David  did  Jonathan,  "Do  not  persuade  me 
any  more;  I  think  the  Master  indicates  that  I  should  not  go 
with  you."  More  than  four  decades  have  passed  since  that 
sad  parting.  Many  a  time  I  have  feared  that  the  Master 
was  then  displeased  with  me  for  not  saying,  "Here  am  I, 
send  me."  A  young  brother  in  Synod  at  the  time  said  to 
me,  "Consult  not  with  flesh  and  blood."  To  him  I  suppose 
my  decision  seemed  as  if  I  did.  And  during  all  these  years 
I  have  often  feared  that  that  decision  was  the  blunder  of  my 
life.  On  the  other  hand  I  have  hoped  that  in  it  all  I  was 
led  by  the  Spirit  to  do  what  was  the  will  of  Him  whom  I 
have  tried  to  serve.  Brothers  Dodds  and  Beattie  did  their 
work  well  and  were  taken  to  the  rest  provided;  I  am  left  to 
see  others,  their  succes'-ors,  occupying  a  greatly  widened 
field  and  approved  of  the  church.  Surely  He  has  done  all 
things  well. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 
Church  Work. 

During  the  early  years  of  my  pastorate  the  communion 
seasons  were  times  of  anxiety  and  special  prayer  and  study. 
As  the  years  passed  they  became  seasons  of  revival  and  often 
of  spiritual  joy,  as  I  hoped.  I  now  look  back  upon  them  as 
the  best  and  most  joyous  times  and  seasons  of  my  whole 
life.  I  thank  God  for  them  and  for  the  hope  that  by  them, 
as  means  of  grace,  precious  souls  were  taught  and  sanctified. 
In  my  pastor's  journal  a  record  of  them,  as  well  as  of  other 
work  and  events,  was  kept;  but  most  of  what  was  then 
written  has  passed  from  memorj^'s  page  never  to  be  recalled 
until  in  the  life  immortal. 

Our  first  communion  was  on  the  third  Sabbath  of  June, 
1853.  I  was  favored  with  the  assistance  of  old  Dr.  James 
Milligan,  then  without  charge,  and  Rev.  R.  Z.  Willson, 
pastor  of  Craftsbury  congregation.  Referring  to  my  journal 
I  find  this  written  on  the  Tuesday  before,  viz.  "The  session 
met.  .  .  .  One  young  lamb,  Emily  Divoll,  was  admitted 
into  the  fold.  She  is  only  fifteen.  Stood  a  good  exami- 
nation and  manifested  evidence  of  piety.  I  rejoiced  that 
even  one  was  added  to  the  church,  but  I  was  sad  that  there 
were  no  more. ' ' 

In  those  times  the  pastor  was  always  expected  to  preach 
"the  action  sermon"  or  the  discourse  on  the  Sabbath  A.  M. 
before  the  administration  of  the  supper.  Mine  was  from  the 
text  Eph.  3:  19,  "And  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which 
passeth  knowledge."  In  the  study  and  delivery  of  that 
(192) 


CHURCH    WORK. 


193 


sermon  I  think  I  saw  and  felt  more  of  the  wonderful  love  of 
Christ  than  ever  before.  The  whole  number  of  communi- 
cants was  fifty-seven  or  fifty-eight.  Ten  or  twelve  of  these 
were  from  Ryegate  or  Barnet.  The  complete  church  roll  at 
that  time  numbered  only  forty-five  or  forty-six. 

That  I  was  located  in  a  needy  mission  field  is  illustrated 
by  what  I  find  in  my  journal  under  the  date  of  November 
10,  1853,  or  less  than  four  months  after  our  first  communion. 
It  runs  thus:   '%ast  evening  I  had  quite  a  long  and  close 
contest  with  a  Universalist.     I   learned   more  and  more  of 
the   delusion    and   subtlety   of   that   great   heresy.      I    am 
placed,  unavoidably,  just  between  two  Universalist  families, 
having  hired  rooms  from  one,  and  I  know  I  shall  have  to 
set  my  face  as  steel  against  this  dangerous  error.     When  I 
was  looking  forward  to  the  work  in  which  I  am  engaged, 
I  expected    to   contend    often    against   Seceders,   Associate 
Reformed,  old  and  new  school  Presbyterians,  or  the  errors 
held  by  them.     I  expected  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  battle  for 
the  right  of  Jesus  as  king  of  nations,  and  for  the  rights  of 
man.     But  contrary  to  all   my  expectations  I    am    thrown 
among  infidels,  Universalists,  Baptists,  Methodists  and  Con- 
gregationalists.      Hence  I  have  to  meet  heresies,  errors  and 
dogmas  of  all  kinds  that  I  did  not  anticipate.     God  is  leach- 
ing me  by  this  not  to  trust  in  my  own  powers;  and   how 
important  it  is  for  me,  a  soldier  of  Christ,  to  have  on  the 
zvhole  armor  of  God  and  particularly  the  sword  of  the  Spirit 
which  as  yet  I  have  learned  to  use  but  awkwardly.     Lord 
Jesus,  teach  me  to  use  it  both  expertly  and  successfully." 
And  then  I  find  by  reference  again  to  my  diary  that  on  the 
third  Sabbath  of  November  I  began  to  preach  a  series  of 
sermons  on  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  religion.     The  first 
was  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  and  on  this  I  preached 
two  discourses. 

Notwithstanding  these  records  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  be 
13 


194  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

able  to  state  both  from  memory  and  from  my  record  of  all 
the  texts  from  which  I  preached  during  all  the  years  of  ni}^ 
service  in  Topsham  that  a  very  large  majority  of  the  dis- 
courses preached  were  what  are  commonly  called  "gospel 
sermons."  Purely  doctrinal  discourses  and  especially  con- 
troversial were  rare.  The  cross,  the  doctrines  of  the  atone- 
ment, and  all  the  many  coordinate  themes  were  kept  ever 
before  the  people  whatever  other  important  subjects  might 
demand  occasional  attention. 

Pastoral  or  family  visitation  was  performed  two  times  a 
year  most  of  the  5'ears.  The  elders  "in  turn"  accompanied 
the  pastor  and  generally  gave  assistance.  And  we  ordinarily 
called  upon  all  families  or  persons  who  attended  our  church 
services  unless  we  knew  we  were  not  desired.  And  espe- 
cially in  visiting  the  sick  no  distinction  was  made.  As  there 
was  no  other  pastor  in  the  town,  though  at  the  west  village 
and  at  another  on  the  south  side  there  were  churches  in 
which  there  was  preaching  most  of  the  time,  I  was  expected 
to  be  a  kind  of  pastor  for  all  sick  folks.  I  thought  then  that 
this  gave  me  access  to  many  people  who  did  not  attend 
Sabbath  services  and  to  whom  I  could  preach  the  gospel 
informally.  In  like  manner  I  was  often  called  to  perform 
funeral  services  on  the  death  of  irreligious  persons  or  in 
families  that  did  not  attend  public  worship  on  Sabbath. 
And  so  many  sent  for  me  to  preach  at  funerals,  and  every 
now  and  then  on -the  Sabbath,  I  was  obliged  to  announce 
from  the  pulpit  that  except  in  extraordinary  circamstances  I 
would  not  attend  funerals  on  that  day.  Some  were  dis- 
pleased, but  I  resolved  not  to  be  turned  aside  from  my  pur- 
pose. One  result  was  fewer  funerals  on  the  Lord's  day; 
and  some  pastors  in  neighboring  towns  followed  the  example. 
Prior  to  this  the  people  often  expecte.l  the  minister,  when 
he  was  wanted  at  a  burial,  to  leave  his  congregation  without 
preaching.     Another  common  practise  I  succeeded  in  chang- 


CHURCH    WORK.  195 

ing.     At  funerals  the  rule  had  been  to  have  some  religious 
services  first  at  the  house;  then  the  funeral  procession  went 
to  the  church  in  the  village,  the  pall-bearers  carrying  the 
corpse  in  and  up  to  the  pulpit  before  the  preacher  who  was 
always  expected  to  preach  an  appropriate  sermon;  then  after 
all  would  see  the  remains  of  the  departed  the   funeral  pro- 
cession was  foimtd  and  the  body  taken  to  the  cemetery  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  village.     For  reasons  that  I  need  not 
rehearse  here,  I  let  the  public  know  that  I  would  prefer  the 
burial  to  be  first  and  then  have  the  people  assemble  at  the 
church  for  religious  services.      This  practise  soon  became 
common,  and  the  people  seemed  to  like  it  better  than  the 
old.     And  in  later  years  I  preached  often  to  crowded  houses 
a.id  ordinarily  to  more  people  than  usually  attended  worship 
on  Sabbath;  for  many  of  the  irreligious  people  who  almost 
never  went  to  church  always  attended  funerals.     Besides, 
such  was  the  force  of  custom  or  the  regard  for  religion  that 
all    kinds  of  people,    though    they   never  went   to  church, 
regarded  it  as   disgraceful    to    bury  their  dead    without   a 
funeral  .sermon.     Such  was  called   "the  burial  of  an  ass." 
Thus  it  was   that  some  fellow-town.smeu   never  heard   the 
gospel   except   at   funerals.     I    am    thus    reminded  of    the 
burial  of  an  old  man,   a  wicked  man.  a  common    drinker, 
and  a  practical  skeptic.      His  two  sons,  married  men,  were 
respectable  men,  good  citizens,  and  friends  of  benevolence, 
but  in  their  religious  belief  Universalists.     They  and  their 
families  generally  attended  our  Sabbath  services;  one  owned 
a  pew.     When  their  father  died— a  man  who  probably  had 
not  been  at  church  for  many  years — I  was  asked  to  preach 
the  funeral  sermon.     As  I  had  not  learned  the  art  of  praising 
the  dead  because  they  were  dead,  I  preached  from  the  text: 
"What  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  leap,"   and  made 
no  allusion  whatever  to  the  departed.     If  I  gave  offense  to 
any  one  I  never  heard  of  it. 


196  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

During  the  spring  and  early  summer  of  1854  I  had  little 
rest.  About  the  first  of  March  the  congregation  bought  a 
house  and  lot  for  a  parsonage.  We  moved  into  it  on  the 
30th,  exceedingly  thankful  that  we  had  a  permanent  as  well 
as  comfortable  home.  By  appointment  of  Presbytery  I  went 
to  New  York  in  May  to  assist  Dr.  Christie  in  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  lyord's  supper  in  the  3rd  New  York  congregaton 
now  vacant.  Rev.  S.  O.  Wylie  of  Philadelphia  was  invited 
to  assist.  During  what  leisure  I  had  during  my  week's 
stay  in  the  city,  and  at  the  request  of  the  Topsham  people, 
I  "begged"  money  to  help  them  to  pay  for  the  parsonage. 
It  was  not  very  pleasant  to  my  pride!  During  the  week 
following  the  communion,  the  Presbytery  met  in  Newburgh 
where  I  was  chosen  Moderator;  and  this  was  my  first 
experience  "in  the  chair."  After  Presbytery  adjourned 
I  went  out  to  Coldenham  and  assisted  the  pastor.  Rev. 
William  Shaw,  in  his  communion  services  on  the  Sabbath 
following.  Then  at  home  came  special  duties,  the  election 
and  ordination  of  two  deacons,  Parker  McNiece  and  Robert 
Mclyam.  (This  reminds  me  of  my  incorrect  statement  on  a 
previous  page  when  I  remembered  the  election  of  only  one 
deacon.)  B}^  the  order  of  session  they  were  ordained  not 
by  imposition  of  hands  but  only  by  prayer.  This  led  to  a 
memorial  to  Presbytery  asking  whether,  in  the  election  of 
de  icons,  hands  should  be  imposed,  for  the  members  of  ses- 
sion diflfered  in  opinion.  Then  came  a  difficult  pastoral 
duty  required  by  act  of  session  after  they  had  found  a  mem- 
ber of  the  congregation  guilty  of  tippling  or  drunkenness 
when  he  had  been  disciplined  two  times  before  for  the  same 
offense.  They  now  required  him  to  submit  to  a  public 
rebuke  before  the  whole  congregation  on  Sabbath  at  the 
close  of  the  P.  M.  services.  In  seeming  humility  he  sub- 
mitted to  the  rebuke;  but  to  the  pastor  who  had  to  adminis- 
ter it  before  a  large  congregation  it  was  a  very  painful  duty. 


CHURCH    WORK.  I 97 

Our  second  communion  season  occurred  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath of  July,  1854.  My  helpers  were  my  brother  Rev  J.  B. 
Johnston,  who  was  visiting  us  at  the  t'me,  and  Rev.  J.  M. 
Beattie,  of  Ryegate.  My  action  sermon  on  Sabbath  was 
from  that  great  text:  "Behold!  the  Lamb  of  God."  On 
this  occasion  there  were  four  additions  to  the  church  and 
two  baptisms.  On  the  Tuesday  following  we  held  our 
annual  Sabbath-school  festival  in  an  adjacent  grove.  It 
was  a  joyous  time.  Rev.  Dr.  McKeen,  of  Bradford,  and 
brother  J.  B.  gave  addresses.  The  Sabbath-school  had  now 
grown  to  be  very  large  and  the  workers,  including  the 
pastor,  were  very  hopeful  of  the  results. 

Not  long  after  this  we  were  made  glad  by  visits  from  my 
dear  friend  J.  M.  Armour.  At  his  second  visit  he'  lingered 
with  us  and  preached  for  me  on  Sabbath.  He  may  have 
forgotten  his  text;  I  have  not.  It  was:  "All  things  work 
together  for  good  to  those  who  love  God,"  etc.  Prior  to 
this  time  I  had  been  too  poor  to  own  a  horse  and  buggy, 
something  that  every  country  parson  needs  to  have.  We 
had  studied  economy  and  had  been  able  to  lay  by  enough  to 
buy  the  horse,  for  which  I  paid  one  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars;  but  I  could  not  have  had  the  buggy  unless  the  man 
had  offered  to  wait  with  me  for  the  seventy-five  dollars,  the 
cost  of  the  "wagon"  as  the  Yankees  then  called  it.  So  I  gave 
him  my  note  for  that  sum  payable  on  the  first  of  April  the 
next  year.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  contracted  a 
serious  debt,  and  I  felt  considerably  .shaky.  But  I  now  had 
my  own  "bran  new  rig"  and  I  felt  more  independent  both 
of  my  neighbors  and  of  the  livery  stable.  My  first  use  for 
the  "rig"  was  when  I  had  the  pleasure  of  driving  my  friend 
Armour  down  to  Bradford  there  to  bid  him  "good-by, 
brother;  we  will  meet  again."  But  I  soon  had  to  part  with 
that  beautiful  bay  mare  as  fleet  as  a  deer.  She  proved  to  be, 
as  many  people  are,  too  high-strung  and  hard   to  manage. 


198  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

She  knew  too  well  the  use  of  her  teeth  and  of  her  heels. 
One  day  when  Elder  Keenan  was  visiting  at  the  parsonage 
he  went  into  the  stable  to  see  his  pastor's  new  bay  mare. 
As  he  passed  behind  her,  suddenly  and  most  viciously  she 
kicked  at  him  and  might  have  broken  his  leg  if  the  animal's 
heel  had  varied  two  or  three  inches.  I  offered  her  for  sale 
and  received  one  hundred  dollars  for  an  animal  that  I  did 
not  wish  to  keep.  I  thought  more  of  the  elder  and  myself 
and  of  my  wife  for  whom  I  wanted  a  quiet  family  horse,  than 
I  did  olr  the  biting  and  kicking  animal. 

Perhaps  the  reader  is  fond  of  horses?  So  I'll  tell  him 
more  about  my  "luck"  (?)  with  them.  After  awhile  I  gave 
my  one  hundred  dollars  for  another  horse  owned  by  a  near 
neighbor.  One  da}-  when  I  loaned  him  to  some  needy 
neighbor  he  took  fright  and  ran  away  and  made  shipwreck 
of  the  little  wagon.  As  I  believed  the  old  saying  that  after 
a  runaway  no  horse  is  ever  safe,  I  sold  him  to  a  farmer  who 
knew  of  the  horse's  bad  conduct.  How  much  I  lost  in  this 
second  transaction  I  have  now  forgotten.  But  I  must  have 
a  horse  to  do  pastoral  work  among  the  people;  and  so  one 
day  ("the  third  time  is  the  charm")  young  Josiah  Keenan, 
a  church-member  and  a  son  of  Elder  Keenan,  brought  a 
young  horse,  so  beautiful  that  at  once  I  liked  him.  He  said: 
"Mr.  Johnston,  here  is  the  horse  you  want."  "For  how 
much?"  "One  hundred  dollars."  "It's  a  bargain."  "Well, 
keep  him  a  week  and  if  you  don't  like  him  bring  him  back." 
I  kept  him.  He  was  as  gentle  as  a  lamb  and  as  beautiful 
as  a  young  deer.  I  kept  him  and  trained  him,  and  he 
became  a  model  famil}'  horse  and  a  petted  animal  that  my 
Eliza  could  drive,  and  yet  he  was  too  spirited  to  bear  the 
whip.  He  did  us  good  service  for  years  until  we  needed  him 
no  more.  If  the  reader  will  wait,  after  a  while  I  will  tell 
him  more  about  my  good  pet  "Charlie"  unless  it  be  thought 
that  a  Covenanter  pastor  has  no  right  to  love  a  good  horse. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Work  for  the  Slave. 

During    the   early  years  of  my  home  in  Vermont    and 
while   the   ami  slavery  agitation  was   becoming   more  and 
more  intense,  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  quite  a  number 
of  the  leading    New    England    Abolitionists.     As  I  was  a 
subscriber  for  the  Aiiti-slavery  Standard,  of  New  York,  the 
organ  of  the    National   Anti-slavery   Society,   and   for   the 
Liberator,  of  Boston,  the  organ  of  the  New  England  Anti- 
slavery  Society  and  edited  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  to 
both  of  which  papers  I  was  an  occasional  contributor,  I  was 
not  a  stranger  to  Abolitionists.     And  as  the  anniversaries  of 
the  National  Society  were  held  in  New  York  City  in  May, 
and  as  in  those  years  my  Presbytery  met  every  spring  in 
Newburgh,  it  was  generally  convenient  for  me  to  attend  the 
anti-slavery  anniversaries.     This  gave  me  opportunities  to 
form  personal  acquaintance  with  some  of  the  leading  friends 
of  the  slave.     Moreover,  as  I  was  occasionally  in  Boston  by 
appointment  of  Presbytery  and  preaching  to  the  little  society 
of  Covenanters  that  soon  grew  into  a  good-sized  congrega- 
tion, I  had  opportunity  to  meet  some  of  the  Boston  Abohtion- 
ists.     Some  of  them  were  not  orthodox  Christians  but  of 
them   as    Reformers   it   may  be  said    "the   world   was   not 
worthy."     The   longer   I    lived   in    Vermont   the    more    I 
became  acquainted  with  Covenanters  and  with  other  anti- 
slavery  people  in  different  parts  of  the  state.     This  led  to 
my  being  invited  occasionally  to  give  anti-slavery  lectures 
before  mixed  audiences.     Then  from  time  to  time  it  was  my 

(199) 


200  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

privilege  to  arrange  lecturing  tours  and  open  the  way  for  the 
old  "anti-slavery  apostles"  as  they  have  been  called  subse- 
quently. Among  them  I  can  recall  William  Wells  Brown, 
the  fugitive  slave,  Charles  Lenox  Remond,  the  eloquent 
colored  man  of  Linn,  Mass.,  Mrs.  F.  E.  W.  Harper,  the 
colored  poet  and  oratorical  advocate  of  human  rights.  Miss 
Sallie  Holley,  a  devoted  friend  of  the  slave,  C.  C.  Burleigh, 
the  Quaker  and  eloquent  orator,  Parker  Pillsbury,  the  most 
prophetic  and  perhaps  the  ablest  of  them  all.  On  two 
occasions  I  secured  Mr.  Garrison  as  a  lecturer  at  a  few  of 
the  more  prominent  places.  On  one  of  these  occasions  Mr. 
Garrison  and  Rev.  Samuel  May,  Jr.,  lectured  in  the  Cov- 
enanter church  in  Topsham  to  a  crowded  house,  for  almost 
all  classes  of  people  were  curious  if  not  anxious  to  hear  the 
great  Abolitionist.  They  were  both  my  guests  at  the  par- 
sonage, though  at  that  time  when  in  sorrow  and  in  affliction 
I  went  to  Mr.  Parker  McNiece's  for  my  meals.  Never  did 
we  have  in  the  parsonage  as  guests  two  more  gentlemanly 
and  companionable  Christian  men.  Some  of  the  people, 
mostly  of  the  pro-.slav^ery  mould,  who  came  to  hear  Mr. 
Garrison's  lecture  expected  to  see  a  hard  man — a  .soured 
misanthrope  and  a  cross  and  denunciatory  .speaker.  They 
were  greatly  disappointed  when  they  saw  a  peaceful  and 
Quaker-like  man,  with  a  placid  countenance  and  benevolent 
face,  with  voice  and  words  so  tender  and  kind  that  every 
one  could  .see  that  he  was  so  far  from  being  a  monster  he 
was  more  like  a  Howard  or  Wilberforce.  No  harsh  word 
fell  from  his  lips;  and  his  greatest  enemies  went  away  say- 
ing: "Well,  Mr.  Garrison  isn't  such  a  bad  man  after  all," 
and  some  of  them  who  had  been  di.spleased  at  me  for  bring- 
ing him  to  Topsham  thanked  me  for  doing  it. 

Among  all  the  above-mentioned  lectures  I  was  freer  to 
arrange  meetings  for  Charles  C.  Burleigh  than  for  any  other, 
and  at  two  different  times  I  opened  the  way  for  him  quite 


William   Lloyd  Garrison 


WORK    FOR   tHE   SLAVE.  iOl 

extensively,  and  went  with  him  to  some  of  the  meetings. 
He  had  but  one  aim,  freedom  for  the  .slave.  His  person,  his 
demeanor,  his  freedom  from  vituperation,  and  his  impas- 
sioned eloquence  in  pleading  for  the  oppressed  millions,  all 
showed  that  he  was  in  earnest  and  had  no  sinister  motive. 
Charles  C.  Burleigh  was  a  lovel}-  man,  and  I  loved  him. 
On  two  occasions  he  was  a  guest  in  our  family  and  we  saw 
more  of  his  real  worth  than  others  could  know  wdio  were 
not  so  favored.  He  evidently  had  a  tender  affection  for  his  wife 
and  young  children  left  at  home.  One  day  I  went  into  the 
parlor  where  he  was  sitting  alone,  and  I  found  him  looking 
lovingly  at  a  picture  of  the  loved  ones  at  home.  He  handed 
the  picture  to  me  as  though  he  wished  me  also  to  love  them. 
Notwithstanding  his  grave  demeanor  and  gentlemanly  dig- 
nity everywhere  in  public,  he  had  a  vein  of  mirth  and  fun. 
One  day  I  entered  the  parlor  when  he  was  alone.  I  found 
him  down  on  the  carpet  playing  with  a  kitten  and  laughing 
merrily.  Such  was  the  Quaker  Abolitionist  who,  I  suppose, 
during  the  long  years  of  the  anti-slavery  excitement  spoke 
for  the  bondman  oftener  than  any  other;  and  among  all  the 
brave  men  who  never  tired  in  the  long-continued  battle  for 
the  right  I  place  him  among  "the  three  mighties"  and 
worthy  of  imperishable  honor  as  well  as  gratitude. 

Of  all  the  other  lecturers  mentioned  above,  especially 
Mrs.  Harper  and  William  Wells  Brown,  I  would  gladly 
write  at  length  if  space  would  permit.  Except  Mrs.  Harper, 
they  all  were  Garrisonian  Abolitionists,  that  is,  because  of 
its  pro-slavery  Constitution  and  admini.stration  they  would 
neither  vote  nor  hold  office  in  the  government.  They  would 
not  "strike  hands  with  the  oppressor;"  and  they  "remem- 
bered them  that  were  in  bonds  as  bound  with  them." 

Probably  the  most  important  meetings  in  behalf  of  free- 
dom were  the  state  conventions,  two  at  Bradford  and  the 
third  at  West  Randolph.     They  were  nominally  under  the 


^62  LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

auspices  of  the  New  England  Anti-Slavery  Society,  }  et  the 
burden  of  the  arrangements  devolved  upon  me.  The  first 
was  at  Bradford.  As  there  were  more  Covenanters  than  Gar- 
risonians  in  that  part  of  the  state,  the  former  shaped  the 
character  of  the  convention  and  controlled  its  actions  quite 
largely.  As  the  call  did  not  specify  or  foreshadow  the 
character  of  the  convention  except  as  anti-slavery,  the  polit- 
ical Abolitionists  were  dissatisfied  when  they  learned  that 
some  of  the  prominent  speakers  were  Garrisonians,  among 
whom  was  Parker  Pillsbury  who  was  unpopular  among  the 
churches  because  he  had  so  often  testified  against  some  of 
them  as  pro-slavery.  Rx-Governor  Fletcher  had  promised 
to  give  an  address,  but  when  he  saw  the  names  on  the  pro- 
gram of  some  Garrisonians  he  did  not  come.  Even  my 
friend  Rev.  Dr.  McKeen,  a  Congregational  minister  did  not 
attend  after  the  first  day.  Yet  one  of  the  leading  members 
of  his  church,  Asa  lyow,  Esq.,  was  the  chairman  of  the  con- 
vention. Among  the  speakers  were  Rev.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane, 
of  New  York,  and  Charles  Ivcnox  Remond,  of  Massachusetts. 
The  Covenanters  from  Ryegate  and  Barnet  and  from  Tops- 
ham  were  prominent  on  committees  and  had  much  to  do  in 
shaping  the  resolutions.  These  were  very  radical.  Mr. 
Sloane  and  I  lodged  together  at  the  Old  Trotter  House,  and 
the  resolutions  had  much  of  the  Covenanter  ring.  We  had 
a  good  time  as  loving  brothers  during  those  two  convention 
days  and  evenings.  After  the  adjournment  he  came  home 
with  me  to  visit  his  friends  and  to  remain  over  Sabbath. 
Those  were  days  of  sweet  communion  never  to  be  forgotten. 
The  next  year,  or  perhaps  two  years  afterwards,  the  state 
convention  met  at  West  Randolph.  In  that  part  of  the  state 
there  were  few  Covenanters,  but  the  Garrisonians  were 
numerous.  But  as  the  call  included  all  anti-slavery  people, 
every  shade  of  anti-slaver)'  sentiment  was  represented,  th^^  ugh 
in  the  organization  of  the  convention  the  Garrisonians  were 


Work  i^ok  The  stAV^.  ^03 

the  most  numerous.  The  pastor  of  Topsham  congregation 
was  made  the  chairman  and  of  course  he  had  much  to  do  in 
shaping  the  committees.  The  convention  continued  through 
two  days  and  evenings  and  was  largely  attended  to  the  end. 
The  presence  of  William  lyloyd  Garrison  and  of  Rev.  Samuel 
May,  Jr.,  gave  tone  to  the  entire  convention.  Mr.  Garrison 
gave  two  or  three  regular  addresses,  and  took  a  prominent 
part  in  the  discussion.  He  was  always  heard  with  great 
interest.  He  never  uttered  a  trivial  sentence  or  an  unfit 
word.  He  had  little  or  no  wit  or  humor,  and  he  never  con- 
descended to  anything  like  abuse  of  any  one  or  of  vitupera- 
tion or  irony  or  sarcasm.  His  addresses  were  always  clear, 
logical,  grave,  earnest,  even  to  solemnity.  His  power  as  a 
speaker  was  in  his  array  of  great  facts  in  relation  to  slavery, 
its  iniquity,  its  wrongs  done  to  the  slave,  to  the  nation  and 
in  the  churches.  On  all  matters  connected  with  the  ''Patri- 
archal Institution"  he  was  so  well  informed  and  so  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  oppressed,  no  man  could  gainsay.  His 
utterances,  always  as  harsh  as  truth,  carried  conviction  in 
the  minds  of  all  not  blinded  by  prejudice. 

One  of  the  ministers  who  attended  through  all  the  sessions 
of  the  convention  was  a  Baptist,  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability,  a  foe  to  slavery  but  unwilling  to  hear  blame  laid  to 
the  charge  of  the  churches  that  fellowshiped  slaveholders. 
Hence,  when  one  of  the  resolutions  on  this  subject  was  under 
discussion,  he  antagonized  it  and  with  much  effort  argued 
against  what  Mr.  Garrison  had  said  on  the  subject.  I 
expected  Mr.  Garrison  to  reply,  but  he  insisted  that  I 
should.  He  said,  "lyCt  preacher  meet  preacher."  I  left  the 
chair  and  spoke  at  length  in  defense  of  the  truth.  The  ex- 
citement ran  high.  Others,  laymen  and  ministers,  engaged 
in  the  debate,  and  I  felt  sure  that  the  truth  prevailed. 

Rev.  Samuel  May  and  I  were  entertained  in  the  family  of 
a  good  Methodist  brother.     Though  a  member  of  a  church 


204     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

that  fellowshiped  slaveholders,  he  was  a  warm  Abolitionist. 
We  had  family  prayers  morning  and  evening.  In  theology 
we  did  not  see  eye  to  eye;  as  to  the  right  of  every  human 
bii  ig  to  free  lorn  we  were  of  one  mind.  Mr.  Mav,  whatever 
his  religious  creed  may  have  been,  always  seemed  to  be  a 
truly  Christian  man.  He  was  consecrated  to  the  cause  of 
the  oppressed  and  made  many  sacrifices  in  its  behalf. 
During  our  residence  in  Vermont  I  received  mau}^  letters 
from  him.  Some  of  them  were  gems.  Some  of  them  are 
historic  and  should  not  be  given  to  the  flames. 

Rev.  Mr.  May  was  corresponding  secretary  of  the  New 
England  Anti-Slavery  Society.  Under  the  date  of  June  4, 
1857,  he  wrote  to  ask  me  to  do  what  I  could,  without  neg- 
lecting ni}'  pastoral  duties,  by  way  of  lectures  in  Vermont. 
In  this  letter  he  wrote: 

"Our  position  is  so  much  in  harmony  witli  that  occupied  hy  your 
church  that  we  feel  no  doubt  of  your  sympathy.  We  wish  to  have 
the  people  of  Vermont  understand,  better  than  they  do  now,  the  real 
character  of  our  movement, — its  moral  character, — its  truly  religious 
character,— the  reasons  of  our  'No  Union'  position,  both  in  matters 
of  state  and  church,  and  why  it  is  that  we  have  got  ourselves  so 
proscribed  and  odious,  why  it  is  that  we  are  accounted  infidel, 
etc.,  etc. 

"No  movement  (in  my  humble  judgment)  ever  had. a  clearer  foun- 
dation in  reason,  common  sense,  the  fundameatal  principles  oi  mor- 
als, and  the  whole  genius  of  Christianity,  than  our  movement.  As 
such,  we  wish  to  have  the  people  understand  it,  and  cease  to  be 
duped  and  misled  by  the  tricksters  who  now  sit  in  editorial  chairs, 
mount  political  stumps,  and  preach  in  professedly  Christian  pulpits." 

Under  the  date  of  January,  1858,  he  wrote  among  other 
things  the  following: 

"I  am  right  glad  to  hear  you  were  so  bold  for  God  and  the  truth, 
at  Waitsfield,  and  I  hope,  in  the  old  church  phrase,  that  you  will 
have  many  souls  there  as  the  seals  of  your  ministry.  This  is  the 
power  of  the  Gospel  itself  The  movement  embraces  so  manj^  of  the 
vital  principles  and  essential  aims  and  methods  of  the  Gospel,  that  it 
may  justly  be  called  the  Gospel  now — not  any  modern  Gospel,  but 


Rev    Samuel  Way 


WORK    FOR   THE   SLAVE.  205 

the  old,  unchanging,  and  everlasting  truth,  on  which  the  men  of  this 
da)-,  and  especially  those  who  profess  to  be  its  chief  ministers,  have 
turned  their  backs,  and  become  its  revilers  and  deadly  foes,  annnated 
with  the  spirit  of  antichrist.  But  to  us  it  is  the  power  of  God,  and 
the  wisdom  of  God,  though  to  'the  wise,'  etc.,  it  is  a  stumbling-block 
and  foolishness.  But  I  hope  that  many  in  Vermont  will  see  its  glori- 
ous light,  and  come  to  it,  and  be  no  longer  halting  between  two 
opinions  and  courses,  and  trying  to  serve  God  and  mammon.  The 
support  of  this  government  and  Union,  and  a  voluntary  participation 
therein,  is  utterly  irreconcilable  with  a  genuine  faith  in  God,  and  a 
full  acceptance  of  his  laws.  This  must  be  pushed  home  to  the  con- 
sciences and  souls  of  the  people.  Oh,  what  a  history  is  this  nation 
writing  out,  from  day  to  day!  What  a  hideous  spectacle  it  presents 
to  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  to  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God!" 

And  then  again  in  April  of  the  same  year  he  wrote: 

"But  I  have  thought  of  you  often  and  much.  Garrison  and  I  often 
speak  of  your  position,  your  brave  anti-slavery  action,  your  trials, 
etc  ,  etc.  He  understands  thoroughly  well  the  spirit  of  proscription 
which  has  begun  its  mean  and  cowardly  work  against  you  and  the 
cause  of  just  and  uncompromising  freedom.  I  think  /understand  it 
pretty  well.  These  assaults  are  sharpest,  as  I  feel  very  confident, 
just  now — indeed,  I  incline  to  think  the  worst  of  them  over,— or  at 
least  until  we  give  them  fresh  provocation,  which  I  hope  may  be 
before  a  great  while.  I  could  truly  wish  3'ou  had  a  few  more  strong 
friends  close  around  you,  to  help  hold  up  your  hands.  The  sympa- 
thy and  cheer  of  friends  is  a  great  support— but  the  consciousness  of 
bciug-  right  is  still  better,— 'O;/^',  with  God,  is  a  majority.'  We  can 
afford  to  wait." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

Under  the  Father's  Rod. 

We  had  hoped  that  our  residence  in  Vermont  would  help 
to  restore  Eliza's  health.  She  became  better  or  worse  at 
different  times  though  she  never  enjoyed  good  health.  She 
suffered  much  and  often  from  indigestion  and  acidity  of  the 
stomach.  Neither  the  climate  nor  the  hygienic  remedies 
used  effected  a  cure.  In  the  autumn  of  1856  she  spent 
some  weeks  at  Dr.  Trail's  Hygienic  Institute  in  New  York, 
but  received  no  permanent  benefit  except  some  lessons  as  to 
the  proper  diet  for  sufferers  of  her  class.  With  the  return 
of  spring,  in  May,  1857,  she  accompanied  me  to  Presbytery 
in  Newburgh  and  thence  to  Synod  in  Ohio,  where  we  visited 
our  friends  as  long  as  my  duties  at  home  would  permit. 
On  our  return  we  brought  with  us  a  nephew,  Patterson 
Pollock,  and  a  niece,  Ella  Davis,  both  young  children  whose 
parents  were  willing  to  have  them  come  and  pay  us  a  visit 
and  perhaps  remain  a  long  time  with  us  in  our  quiet  home, 
lyittle  Ella  was  a  pet  of  mine;  and  Eliza  hoped  to  be  of 
special  use  to  her  sister's  son.  After  an  absence  of  over 
four  weeks  we  reached  our  loved  home  in  the  Topsham 
parsonage  on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  June  11.  I  had 
hoped  that  the  journey  and  the  visit  would  be  useful,  but 
they  were  only  slightly  beneficial.  God  had  willed  that  she 
should  be  removed  to  the  land  where  the  inhabitants  "shall 
not  say,  I  am  sick."  On  the  afternoon  of  July  3,  she 
entered  upon  her  heavenly  rest.  I  hope  that  now  after  forty 
years  have  passed  it  will  be  admissible  to  copy  here  a  little 
(206) 


UNDER   THE    FATHER' vS   ROD.  '  207 

of  what  was  written  in  my  journal  when  the  rod  of  the  Chas- 
tiser  lay  upon  me.      "Her  death  was  happy.      The  struggle 
of  pain  had  been  passed  the  night  and  morning  before,  and 
as  she  drew  nearer  her  end  she  seemed  more  calm  and  easy. 
During   the    afternoon   she    conversed    freely,    and    seemed 
aware  that  she  would  not  live.     I  could  not  think  it  possible 
that  she  would  now  be  taken  away  from  me.     Still  we  had 
much  precious  conversation  while  I  hung  over  her  in  anxiety 
and  prayer.    Many  a  precious  word,  expressions  of  faith  and 
hope,  mingled    with  fear,   fell   from    her    lovely  lips.     The 
Saviour,  I  think,  was  her  support.     I  could  not  give  her  up. 
It  seemed  strange  that  God  would  take  her  from  me  with  so 
Uttle  warning— strange  that  he  should  leave  me  alone,  with- 
out earthly  friends  (relatives)  save  the  dear  little  nephew  and 
niece  whom  we  had  brought  home  with  us  from  the  west. 
Shortly  before  her  departure  I  went  alone  and  wrestled  with 
God  that  he  would  not  take  her  away  from  me  and  leave  me 
alone  in  this  cold  and  almost  cheerless  world.      But  he  heard 
not  my  prayer.      Bitterness  alone  was  in  my  cup.      I  had  to 
drink  it.     But  I  mourn  not  as  those  who  have  no    hope. 
Among  the  many  words  which  fell  from  her  lips,  soon  to  be 
cold  in  death,   she  said,  'Lord  Jesus,  save  my  soul.      Pre- 
cious S  wiour,  sustain  me.'     When  I  remarked  to  her  that  I 
feared  God  was  about  to  remove  her  from  me  but  that  we 
would   meet  in  heaven,    she    said,    'That   will  be  a-  happy 
meeting.'     She  prayed  much,  sometimes  audibly  and  some- 
times .Slently,   her  lips  moving.     Just  before  her  last,  .she 
kissed  the  children  and  bade  ihem  good-by,   giving    them 
good  advice.     Then  she  reached  out  her  hand  to  the  friends 
standing    by,    saying,    'Friends,    farewell.'       I    asked    her 
what  she  had  to  say  to  me.      'O,  ask  God  to  direct  you,  and 
be   faithful    unto   death,'   were   her  words  in  reply.     Soon 
afterwards  she  clasped  me  in  her  arms  while  I  kissed  her. 
and  then  bade  me  farewell.     And  then  with  a  full  voice  she 


2o8  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

said,     'Come,   Lord    J^siis,    come    quickly,'    and    soon    the 
redeemed  spirit  went  to  God." 

Four  decades  have  passed  since  I  stood  at  that  newly 
made  grave  in  which  we  laid  away  all  that  was  mortal  of 
one  who  had  long  been  to  me  as  an  angel  of  God.  I  think 
I  was  not  blind  to  her  imperfections,  but  if  it  is  possible  for 
any  child  of  God  on  earth  to  be  without  fault,  or  free  from- 
wrong-doing,  she  was  guileless.  In  womanly  chastity  and 
virtue  she  seemed  to  me  to  be  spotless.  In  sweetness  of 
temper,  in  amiability  of  disposition,  in  harmlessness  and 
innocence,  she  was  lamblike  and  dovelike.  Of  priceless  value 
was  her  silent  but  consta  it  influence  over  me.  Her  Chris:- 
like  gentleness  was  always  a  check  upon  me.  "In  her 
tongue  was  the  law  of  kindness."  From  her  lips,  as  I 
remember,  never  fell  a  word  of  passion  or  of  hate  towards 
any  one.  That  she  was  sinless  I  dare  not  say,  but  He  who 
made  her  and  He  who  saved  her  had  adorned  her  with  rarest 
beauties  and  virtues.  Her  feeble  health  and  her  sufferings, 
o'^ten  acute,  no  doubt  the  Sanctifier  knew  were  necessary  to 
prepare  her  for  the  compaii}'  of  those  who  are  clothed  in  white 
robes  before  the  throne  of  God.  In  the  school  of  affliction 
through  which  she  passed  I  learned  many  a  lesson.  Her 
meek  submission  in  all  her  sufferings,  of  which  she  never 
uttered  a  word  of  complaint,  was  a  silent  but  constant  rebuke 
of  my  insubmission  to  the  will  of  the  Chastiser;  and  it  always 
seemed  to  me  that  I  was  the  one  who  should  have  been 
made  to  feel  the  smarting  of  the  rod.  But  I  did  not  know 
then  that  her  Redeemer,  the  heavenly  Husband,  was  prepar- 
ing her  by  the  work  of  the  Sanctifier  for  the  companionships 
of  the  celestial  city. 

The  burial  and  the  funeral  services  would  have  been  on 
Saturday  the  4th  if  it  had  been  possible.  Besides,  Rev. 
Mr.  Beattie  could  not  be  present  until  Sabbath  evening ;  and 
the  hour  of  4:30  o'clock  was  fixed.     At  11  o'clock  on  Sab- 


X     ^ 


Rev.  J,   M,  Armour 


UNDER   THE    FATHER'S    ROD.  209 

bath  the  congregation  met  in  two  prayer-meetings,  one  large 
at  the  town  hall,  and  one  small  one  at  the  parsonage.  The 
few  who  were  with  me  that  daj^  in  ni}^  hour  of  sorrow  con- 
ducted the  services  in  a  becoming  manner.  The  dearbreth_ 
ren  seemed  to  have  loving  sympathy  with  their  pastor  and 
tenderly  asked  that  the  Comforter  would  be  near  to  him  in 
his  bereavement. 

At  5  o'clock  a  very  large  funeral  procession,  all  on  foot, 
followed  the  bier  from  the  parsonage  to  the  grave.  The 
elders  and  deacons  were  the  pall-btarers.  Then  followed 
the  members  of  the  cliurch  and  their  families,  then  the 
Sabbath-school,  and  then  the  many  friends  and  neighbors 
assembled.  After  the  coffin  was  lowered  into  the  grave  the 
dear  children  dropped  flowers  upon  it.  The  burial  over,  the 
procession  w^as  reformed  and  all  returned  and  entered  the 
church  where  Rev.  J.  M.  Beattie,  pastor  of  Ryegate  congre- 
gation, preached  from  Rev.  5  :  6,  "And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne,"  etc.  At  the  setting  of  the  sun  I 
returned  to  the  parsonage,  and  with  a  sense  of  desolation 
that  long  night  of  sorrow  passed.  Dear  Mrs.  Divoll  had 
taken  the  little  children  to  her  home,  and  two  or  three  good 
friends  lodged  in  the  parsonage  that  night  that  it  might  not 
seem  .so  desolate  to  the  bereaved. 

During  the  week  following  the  elders  seemed  solicitous 
about  m)^  health,  and,  speaking  for  them,  dear  father  Keenati 
affectionately  advised  me  not  to  think  of  preaching  at  home 
the  next  Sabbath  but  to  take  the  little  bereaved  cousins  and 
go  up  to  Craftsbury  to  visit  with  Brother  Armour.  I 
followed  the  advice.  Though  he  was  a  stranger  to  such 
sorrow,  I  think  he  was  in  sympathy  with  me;  and  to  be 
with  him  was  comforting.  On  Sabbath  he  pressed  me  into 
some  service,  asking  me  to  preach  at  least  one  sermon,  which 
I  did  from  the  text:    "There  shall  be  no  night  there." 

The  Sabbath  after  oiir  return  home  I  preached  both  fore- 
14 


2IO  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

noon  and  afternoon  from  the  text:  "Lord,  increase  our 
faith."  On  Monday,  accepting  the  invitation  of  Mrs. 
DivoU,  I  took  the  children  up  to  that  restful  farmhouse  and 
lodged  with  them  there  at  night  and  left  them  during  the 
day  while  I  went  back  to  the  parsonage  to  stud}'  and  look 
after  things  there.  Meanwhile  I  had  written  to  friends  in 
Ohio  of  Eliza's  death.  On  the  24th  of  July  I  went  to 
Bradford  to  meet  Mrs.  Pollock,  Eliza's  oldest  sister,  and  my 
niece  Augusta  Johnston.  The  former  came  to  take  home  the 
little  children.  After  remaining  a  few  weeks  and  adjusting 
affairs  for  me,  she  and  the  children  departed  for  their  homes. 
Niece  Augusta  remained  to  be  the  housekeeper  at  the 
parsonage.  During  the  following  fall  and  spring  she  was 
a  member  of  a  class  of  students  in  some  of  the  higher 
branches;  and  she  had  a  high  standing  in  all  her  classes,  so  that 
I  was  not  ashamed  of  my  niece,  the  oldest  daughter  of  my 
beloved  brother  James.  She  was  a  loving  and  kind  niece. 
After  a  year  or  so  she  returned  home  leaving  me  alone  in 
the  parsonage.  I  lodged  and  studied  there  but  boarded 
across  the  street  with  the  family  of  Judge  George.  Mrs. 
George  was  the  daughter  of  a  Covenanter  mother  and  had 
been  a  church-goer  but  had  never  made  a  profession  of  faith 
in  Christ.  Her  son  and  daughter  also  attended  worship  and 
were  in  our  Sabbath-school,  but  none  of  the  family  sought 
fellowship  in  the  church  until  some  time  after  I  had  been  a 
boarder  with  them.  First  the  daughter,  Ellen,  the  youngest, 
became  a  Christian  and  was  baptized,  thus  coming  into  the 
kingdom  and  leaving  father,  mother  and  brother  behind  in 
the  world.  Not  long  afterwards,  however,  her  mother 
appeared  before  the  session  asking  baptism  and  a  place  in 
the  little  Covenanter  Church  with  her  daughter.  I  believe 
that  the  good  woman  had  long  been  a  believer  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  but  had  not  such  strong  co.ivictions  or  such  courage 
as  were  sufficient  to  lead  her  to  publicly  confe.ss  his  name  in 


UNDKR    THE    FATHER  vS    ROD.  211 

a  dissenting  church  when  her  husband  was  such  an  un- 
believer and  such  a  politician.  To  the  pistor,  however, 
they  were  joyful  days  when  both  mother  and  daughter  were 
numbered  among  the  d'sciples. 

Prior  to  this  time  quite  a  number  of  most  excellent  women, 
young  and  old,  had  been  brought  into  the  church.  Except 
two  or  three,  they  were  connected  with  Covenanter  families. 
Among  the  men  there  were  two  whose  profession  of  faith 
and  coming  into  the  church  gave  joy  to  the  pastor,  viz. 
Charles  DivoU  and  Samuel  Mills,  a  resident  in  the  village. 
He  and  his  wife  had  formerly  been  members  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland.  After  my  settlement  in  Topsham  they 
attended  woship  with  us  and  their  children  came  to  the 
Sabbath-school.  After  a  while  Mrs.  Mills  united  with  us. 
At  first  Mr.  Mills  could  not  give  up  the  privilege,  as  he  then 
regarded  it,  of  being  a  citizen  of  this  great  government  and 
a  voter  and  eligible  to  office.  After  a  while,  however,  he 
appeared  before  the  sessioa  and  asked  membership  with  us. 
This  was  a  joyful  day,  for  Mr.  Mills  was  an  intelligent  man 
and  capable  of  doing  great  good  as  a  member  of  the  church. 
In  a  year  or  two  after  his  admission  he  was  chosen  and 
ordained  a  deacon. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 
Busy    Days. 

The  fall  and  winter  of  1857  were  busy  seasons  not  to  be 
forgotten.  Presbyter}-  met  at  Craftsbury  to  ordain  and 
install  J.  M.  Armour.  The  only  duty  put  upon  me  was  to 
give  the  address  to  the  installed  pastor.  I  was  exceedingly 
glad  to  have  that  dear  brother  located  so  near  to  me. 
After  Presbytery  I  brought  home  with  me  another  beloved 
brother,  Rev.  J.  R.  Thompson  of  Newburgh,  N.  Y.,  wdio  re- 
mained with  me  over  Sabbath  and  preached  part  of  the  day. 
During  the  autumn  and  winter  I  attended  to  the  duty  of 
pastoral  visitation,  officially  visited  the  schools  of  the  town, 
and  gave  numerous  anti-slavery  lectures  in  adjacent  towns 
and  villages.  Having  appointments  in  the  New  York 
First  Congregation  now  vacant,  on  my  way  thither  I  held 
anti-slaver}'  meetings  and  spoke  at  Claremont,  N.  H.,  and 
at  Brattleboro,  Vt.  While  in  New  York  I  preached  in  the 
Sullivan  Street  Church  two  Sabbaths  and  one  in  Brooklyn 
to  which  Rev.  James  Dickson  had  been  called  as  pastor  but 
not  yet  installed. 

In  that  Sullivan  Street  Church  was  an  old  elder,  Hugh 
Glasford,  who  for  his  excellence  of  character  had  many 
warm  friends  and'who  was  a  zealous  Abolitionist.  On  the 
afternoon  of  my  last  Sabbath  there  I  preached  an  anti- 
slavery  discourse  on  the  text,  Eccl.  4.  i.  "So  I  returned 
and  considered  all  the  oppressions  that  are  done  under  the 
sun,"  etc.  I  suppose  Mr.  Glasford.  had  not  heard  many 
such  sermons  in  that  pulpit;  so  when  I  came  down  he  came 
(212) 


BUSY    DAYS.  213 

forward  to  meet  me  and  taking  my  hand  said  to  me:  "Why 
didn't  3'ou  tell  us  you  were  going  to  preach  that  sermon  and 
we  would  have  had  this  house  crowded  full?"  I  guess  I  was 
"dumfoundered;"  at  least  I  do  not  remember  ni}'  rep'y. 

When  I  left  home  to  fill  Presbyterial  appointments  I 
expected  to  go  from  New  York  to  Cleveland  at  which  had 
been  called  a  disunion  Convention.  At  the  metropolis  I 
learned  that  the  convention  had  been  postponed  to  a  later 
date,  and  so  I  did  not  go.  I  had  been  invited  to  attend, 
and  I  had  signed  the  call;  for  though  not  in  the  political 
union  with  slaveholders  1  was  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the 
Garrisonians  whose  motto  was,  "No  union  with  slavehold- 
ers." As  they  saw  no  prospect  of  "immediate  and  uncon- 
ditional emancipation,"  the  great  aim  of  those  noble  phi- 
lanthropists, they  were  in  favor  of  the  entire  separation  of 
the  northern  free  states  from  the  southern  and  slaveholding. 
I  do  not  know  that  they  had  as  3^et  devised  any  exact 
method  by  which  the  separation  should  be  accomplished, 
but  they  favored  and  publicly  declared  in  favor  of  a  total 
separation  under  a  new  constitution  because  the  existing 
union  with  a  pro-slavery  constitution  was  a  "covenant  with 
death  and  an  agreement  with  hell."  Though  this  disunion 
movement  had  but  few  advocates  it  caused  great  excitement 
among  some  classes  of  politicians  and  especially  in  the 
south  where  it  aroused  bitter  animosity.  Perhaps  the  reader 
of  history  is  reminded  by  the  above  statement  of  an  event 
which  occurred  while  John  Quincy  Adams  was  in  Congress- 
To  that  champion  of  the  right  of  petition  was  sent  for  presen- 
tation a  memorial  asking  measures  looking  towards  sepa- 
ration from  the  south.  It  was  called  the  "disunion  petition.'' 
He  presented  it.  This  act  was  followed  immediately  by  the 
passage  of  a  resolution  by  the  House  "that  for  said  action 
Mr.  Adams  should  be  expelled."  He  went  home,  but  soon 
afterwards  and  by  his  own  constituents  he  was  triumphantly 
sent  back  to  Congress. 


Si4  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

Only  a  few  weeks  passed  until  I  had  to  return  to  New 
York  to  attend  the  fall  meeting  of  Presbytery.  By  appoint- 
ment I  preached  in  Boston  on  ray  way  home.  Thus  as  I 
was  kept  busy  in  so  many  ways  God  showed  his  love  to  me 
by  giving  me  little  opportunity  to  sit  down  and  brood  over 
my  sorrows  in  bereavement.  I  did  not  think  of  it  then  but 
I  see  it  now.  I  see  that  on  my  return  home  from  the  Pres- 
bytery I  wrote  in  my  journal  among  other  things:  "Glad  to 
get  back  to  the  old  parsonage  once  dear  but  now  so  lonely 
since  she  is  here  no  more.  ...  I  find  it  hard  to  be 
reconciled  to  His  will."  But  He  dealt  kindly  with  me  by 
giving  me  so  much  to  do.  I  needed  to  forget,  if  possible, 
His  chastising  rod.  But  I  could  not.  Mj^  sweetest  hours 
of  the  daj'  and  the  happiest  days  of  the  week  were  in  soli- 
tude. And  after  my  niece  had  returned  to  her  home,  during 
the  year  or  two  that  I  was  a  boarder  but  lodged  alone  in  the 
parsonage  and  bus\-  in  my  study,  I  desired  to  be  left  alone. 
I  disliked  to  hear  any  one  knock  at  the  door.  Such  was 
my  growing  selfishness  that  the  divine  goodness  was  shown 
to  me  by  my  Master's  compelling  me  to  go  out  to  the  work 
that  must  be  done.  Then  I  was  prone  to  complain  ;  now  I 
am  thankful. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  January,  1858,  that  our  first  state 
anti-slaver}^  convention  at  Bradford  was  held  to  which  I  had 
reference  on  a  previous  page.  By  looking  at  my  journal  I 
can  correct  some  misstatements.  The  chosen  chairman  was 
a  Mr.  Dyer,  a  Garrisonian  from  Randolph.  Mr.  Lowe  pre- 
sided at  the  closing  evening  session  when  the  excitement 
ran  the  highest.  Ex-Governor  Fletcher  and  Rev.  Dr. 
McKeen  were  present  the  first  da}^  and  the  former  took 
part  in  the  discussion  on  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the  disso- 
lution of  the  Union,  but  neither  returned  the  second  day. 
The  discussion  over  the  offensive  resolutions  occupied  a  part 
of  two  or  three  sessions.     One  of   the   most    outspoken  in 


BUSY   DAYS.  215 

Opposition  was  William  Goodell,  of  Massachusetts,  who  in 
the  afternoon  session  offered  a  substitute  which  was  lost. 
Then  in  the  evening  and  last  session  he  moved  to  lay  the 
original  resolution  on  the  table.  This  was  holly  debated 
and  finally  lost;  so  that  the  truth  triumphed.  Some  other 
Abolitionists  besides  the  Garrisonians  and  Covenanters  voted 
for  it.  And  not  much  wonder  when  such  eloquent  speakers 
advocated  it,  as  William  Wills  Brown,  Charles  Lenox 
Remond  (both  colored),  and  Parker  Pillsbury.  Mr.  Sloane 
(not  yet  a  D.  D.)  gave  his  eloquent  address  during  the 
closing  session,  but  I  think  he  did  not  engage  in  ihe  dis- 
cussion on  the  agitating  resolution.  At  the  adjournment  of 
the  convention  Mr.  Sloane  said  to  me  that  the  two  addresses 
of  Parker  Pillsbury  were  the  most  powerful  he  ever  heard. 
Whatever  sentiments  he  may  have  held  on  religious  ques- 
tions (and  I  know  some  of  them  were  erroneous)  he  did  not 
utter  a  word  to  which  any  Covenanter  could  object.  Subse- 
quently he  gave  two  addresses  on  two  consecutive  nights 
in  Topsham  that  were  so  remarkably  prophetic  and  awe- 
inspiring  that  some  of  the  older  and  most  intelligent  people 
present  (and  the  house  was  full)  said  they  never  had  heard 
anything  so  overwhelming  in  power.  It  was  their  deep 
conviction  and  the  consciousness  of  being  right  that  gave 
such  power  to  the  anti-slavery  apostles  who  began  the  agi- 
tation that  resulted  in  the  revolution  of  the  nation's  mind 
and  in  the  destruction  of  slavery. 

Having  finished  the  exposition  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
in  January  of  1858  I  began  lectures  on  the  first  Epistle  of 
Peter.  In  the  afternoons  I  gave  a  series  of  sermons  on  the 
ten  commandments;  and  after  these,  another  series  on  the 
petitions  of  the  Lord's  prayer.  In  both  these  series  I  often 
preached  two  or  three  discourses  on  the  same  command- 
ment or  the  same  petition.  These  were  followed  by  another 
series  of  discourses  on  the  beatitudes  which  continued  dur- 


2l6  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

ing  the  early  summer  of  1858;  for  during  such  series  I 
sometimes  broke  the  chain  b}^  preaching  on  some  other 
texts  or  special  themes  as  providences  indicated.  As  I  now 
recollect  I  think  I  enjoyed,  yea,  delighted  in  the  study  of 
those  precious  words  of  Jesus  more  than  in  any  other  series 
all  my  life.  The  beatitudes!  O,  they  are,  indeed,  "wonder- 
ful words  of  life."  In  all  these  studies  I  was  greatly  inter- 
ested and  I  hope  profited;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  hope  that  the 
children  of  God  who  heard  the  discourses  were  benefited. 
Moreover,  I  here  leave  my  testimrny  that  in  all  the  studies 
that  I  ever  pursued  in  none  was  I  so  habitually  interested 
and  absorbed  as  in  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God.  And 
this  delight  now,  as  I  draw  near  the  end  of  life,  does  not 
diminish.  If  this  is  true  of  the  study  of  the  written  Word 
now,  with  what  ineffable  delight  will  we  study  the  Word 
that  was  made  flesh! 

During  the  summer  of  this  year,  1858,  I  had  much  enjoy- 
ment in  the  companj^  of  some  of  the  dear  brothers  who 
visited  me.  During  the  communion  season  of  this  summer 
I  was  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  R.  Thompson.  His  company  was 
all  the  more  enjoyable  because  his  most  estimable  wife  was 
with  him.  That  good  brother  had  read  Solomon  carefully: 
"Whoso  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good  thing,  and  obtaineth 
favor  of  the  Lord."  The  action  sermon  at  this  communion 
was  from  the  text,  John  12  127,  "Now  is  my  soul  troubled; 
and  what  shall  I  say,"  etc.  The  theme  was  and  is  one  that 
might  fill  the  minds  even  of  angels  with  sorrowful  admira- 
tion. I  can  not  now  remember  any  action  sermon  whose 
theme  so  filled  ray  soul  with  mingled  sadness  and  delight. 
The  summer  months  following  this  communion  season 
were  interspersed  with  pleasurable  events  that  tended  to 
keep  me  from  brooding  in  .solitude  over  my  bereavement 
that  I  could  not  forget.  Rev.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane  spent  some 
time  in  visiting  his  friends  in  Topsham,  and  I  shared  with 


BUSY   DAYS.  2t^ 

them  the  pleasure.  Very  few  were  so  companionable.  It 
was  a  privilege  to  be  with  such  a  good  and  pleasant  servant 
of  Christ.  Accompanied  by  a  large  company  of  the  youth 
of  the  congregation  we  visited  Wright's  Mountain  and  "the 
devil's  den"  on  the  side  of  the  same. 

At  our  annual  Sabbath-school  festival  in  July,  among  the 
speakers  was  Miss  Sallie  Holley,  an  anti-slavery  lecturer 
who  at  the  time  was  holding  meetings  in  the  state.  Her 
traveling  companion  was  Miss  Caroline  Putnam.  They 
were  Garrisonians  and  did  a  good  work  for  the  slave.  When 
she  gave  her  lecture  in  Topsham  she  stood  in  the  pulpit 
probably  to  the  disgust  of  some  who  believed  that  ^he  was 
disobeying  Paul:  "lyet  the  women  keep  silence  in  the 
churches." 

Miss  Holley  was  a  warm  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Garrison, 
and  he  had  great  confidence  in  her  judgment  on  questions 
involved  in  the  anti-slavery  conflict.  Eut  they  did  not 
always  agree;  and  so  his  friends  told  this  incident  about 
him.  On  one  occasion  they  differed  in  opinion  on  some 
important  matter  pertaining  to  the  work  in  which  they  were 
engaged.  He  labored  hard  to  convince  her  that  his  way 
was  right;  but  she  defended  her  position  and  would  not 
yield  to  Mr.  Garrison's  judgment  and  will.  His  patience 
became  exhausted,  and  with  unusual  feeling,  and  looking  at 
her,  slowly  and  sorrowfully  said:  "I  have  seen  an  end  of  all 
perfection." 

Miss  Putnam  who  was  only  a  personal  friend  and  travel- 
ing companion  of  Miss  Holley,  was  a  woman  of  fine  educa- 
tion and  culture.  Going  from  Topsham  to  South  Ryegate, 
where  Miss  Holley  lectured  the  next  day,  Miss  Putnam, 
who  was  a  great  ornithologist,  was  greatly  delighted  with 
the  forests  and  streams  and  the  birds.  Her  familiarity  with 
their  names  and  habits  put  me  to  shame.  I  refer  to  these 
things  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  the  womt  n  who,  in  their 


2I§  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

advocacy  of  the  cause  of  the  slave  went  upon  the  public 
platform,  were  not  women  of  a  low  type  nor  untutored 
enthusiasts  but  of  a  high  rank  in  morality  and  culture. 

The  longer  I  resided  in  the  Green  Mountain  state  the 
more  I  admired  and  loved  it  for  its  great  beauty  of  moun- 
tains and  hill  and  forest  and  stream.  My  love  of  the  pic- 
turesque and  the  grand  found  almost  full  satisfaction.  And 
so  it  happened  that  I  was  glad  to  respond  to  an  invitation  to 
join  a  party  of  Christian  friends  to  visit  Lake  Willoughbv. 
The  company  was  made  up  by  Brother  Armour  of  Crafts- 
bury,  one  being  Robert  Shields  a  licentiate.  We  traveled 
by  carriages.  The  lake  lies  in  Orleans  County  which  bor- 
ders on  Canada  and  outflows  into  Lake  Memphremagog  on 
the  north;  It  owes  its  beauty  largely  to  the  high  mountains 
that  border  it,  Mount  Pisgah  on  the  east  and  Mount  Hor  on 
the  west.  Pisgah,  only  a  little  higher  than  the  other,  is 
nearly  two  thousand  feet  in  height.  From  the  lake  it  rises 
up  almost  perpendicularly,  presenting  a  bold  rocky  front  or 
wall  but  so  irregular  or  jagged  as  to  admit  such  a  growth  of 
bushes  or  small  trees  as  to  make  the  whole  surface  exceed- 
ingly beautiful.  This  wonderful  mountain  wall  is  so  nearly 
perpendicular  that  it  is  said  that  a  man  standing  nearly  at 
the  top  can  throw  a  stone  that  will  fall  into  the  lake.  The 
ascent  is  made  by  a  path  or  trail  up  the  east  side  where  it  is 
not  very  steep.  On  the  top  was  an  old  wooden  tower  higher 
than  the  surrounding  trees  and  from  whose  top  there  was  a 
magnificent  view  in  every  direction. 

The  fronting  surface  of  Mount  Hor  on  the  west  side  of  the 
lake  is  not  so  perpendicular,  and  the  forest  is  dense.  The 
lake  lying  between  these  mountains  is  less  than  a  mile  wide 
though  the  length  is  six.  It  is  said  to  be  very  deep  and 
abounding  with  fish  of  rarest  quality.  But  the  most  remark- 
able thing  about  this  beautiful  lake  is  its  echo  properties. 
Noises  made  by  persons  in  a  boat  are  echoed  with  wonder- 


feUSY   DAYS.  219 

fill  clearness.  The  reverberations  are  audible  three  or  four 
times;  a  pistol  or  gun  shot,  oftener.  Loud  talking,  singing, 
and  laughter  are  echoed  with  every  different  intonation  of 
the  voice.  The  difference  between  the  rising  and  falling 
inflection  of  a  question  is  as  distinctly  noticeable  as  between 
the  speakers  in  the  boat. 

Our  company  lodged  at  the  hotel  at  the  head  of  the  lake. 
Rising  with  the  first  appearance  of  Aurora,  Mr.  Armour, 
his  sister-in-law.  Miss  Sudborough,  Robert  Shields  and 
I  ascended  to  the  top  of  Pisgah.  Walking  up  the  trail 
about  two  or  tw^o  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  we  spent  an 
hour  in  taking  in  the  grandeur  of  the  sights,  the  White 
Mountains  on  the  east,  the  Green  Mountains  on  the  west, 
the  entire  range  from  Camel's  Hump  on  the  south  to  Jay's 
Peak  and  Owl's  Head  on  the  north;  and  then  returned  in 
time  for  late  breakfast.  Probably  we  boasted  of  our  ante 
jentaculum  excursion,  but  I  am  sure  we  were  all  ready  to 
enjoy  our  full  share  of  the  lake  trout  that  the  cook  had 
reserved  for  the  mountain  tramps.  We  were  loath  to  leave 
Lake  Willoughby.  It  left  a  picture  on  my  memory  so  vivid 
that  to  this  hour  I  often  linger  to  behold  it  with  great 
delight.  Would  the  question  be  culpable  if  any  lover  of  the 
beautiful  in  nature  should  ask  whether  there  will  be  beauti- 
ful lakes  among  the  mountains  of  the  "better  country"? 

In  the  memory  of  the  writer  Lake  Willoughby  associations 
are  all  pleasant.  And  it  is  due  to  the  memory  of  one  of  that 
select  company  to  record  here  my  estimate  of  Robert  Shields 
who  though  much  my  junior  was  long  ago  called  to  the 
higher  life.  I  knew  him  first  as  a  student  in  Geneva  Col- 
lege. He  was  intellectual,  amiable,  and  truly  pious.  Of 
Scotch  ancestry,  and  the  son  of  a  Scotchman,  Elder  Alex- 
ander Shields  of  Craftsbury  congregation,  he  was  full  of 
Covenanter  blood.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  student  of 
nature,  excelled  in  the  ma.stery  of  the  natural  sciences,  and 


220  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

he  was  a  great  botanist.  He  should  have  been  a  professor 
in  this  department  in  some  college  or  university,  for  he  was 
better  adapted  to  this  than  to  the  ministry.  His  godly 
parents,  however,  would  have  been  disappointed  and  proba- 
bly dissatisfied  if  he  had  not  been  ordained  to  the  ministry. 
As  he  was  a  younger  brother  of  Mrs.  Josiah  Divoll,  one  of 
the  elders  in  Topsham  whom  he  visited  often,  I  was  often 
favored  by  his  company.  It  was  a  privilege  to  be  with 
him,  so  much  did  he  know  of  the  wonderful  works  of 
God  in  the  kingdom  of  nature. 

A  while  after  licensure  Mr.  Shields  was  sent  by  the  Board 
of  Missions  to  labor  among  the  Contrabands  at  Fernandina, 
Fla.  He  had  not  been  there  many  months  until  the  military 
or  governmental  officers  gave  him  trouble,  and  because  he 
would  not  take  the  oath  required  of  him  he  was  obliged  to 
leave  that  field  of  labor.  Subsequently  he  was  employed 
by  the  Board  as  a  missionary  among  the  freedmen  at  I^ittle 
Rock,  Ark.,  and  then  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Afterwards 
he  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  in  Ramsey  congre- 
gation in  Canada  where  he  labored  in  feeble  health  until  his 
death  in  1883.  How  many  good  men  and  useful  ministers 
never  live  to  see  threescore  and  ten! 

Before  going  to  Craftsbury  to  preach  for  Brother  Armour 
the  Sabbath  before  our  excursion  to  lyake  Willoughby,  I  had 
written  an  address  ready  to  be  given  at  a  Sabbath-school 
convention  at  Bradford.  Accordingly  I  returned  home  on 
the  cars  via  Bradford.  The  convention  was  largely  attended 
by  Sabbath-school  workers.  Several  able  addresses  were 
given  by  Dr.  McKeen,  Professor  King  of  Newbury  Semi- 
nary, and  others.  The  theme  that  had  been  assigned  to  me 
was,  "The  Qualifications  of  Sabbath-.school  Teachers."  At 
that  convention  were  most  of  the  teachers  and  many  of  the 
youth  of  our  Topsham  Sabbath-school,  and  I  was  not 
ashamed  of  them  nor  of  our  school  which  at  this  time  was 


BUSY    DAYS.  221 

the  largest  in  the  county  and  I  have  no  doubt  the  best. 
And  during  all  these  years  while  laboring  among  children 
and  youth  my  love  of  the  former  and  my  interest  in  the  latter 
grew  steadily.  After  my  pastorate  ended,  though  it  may 
not  have  appeared  to  others,  I  never  changed  my  opinions  as 
to  the  great  importance  of  the  religious  education  of  the 
young.  The  neglect  of  it  is  ruinous  to  the  church  as  well 
as  to  the  individual. 

Prior  to  this  time  Eliza  and  I  had  organized  a  Band  of 
Hope  into  which  had  been  gathered  the  children  and  young 
people  of  the  entire  neighborhood  or  the  bounds  of  the  con- 
gregation. At  one  time  it  numbered  one  hundred  and  eighty 
members.  The  pledge  of  total  abstinence  included  tobacco 
also,  though  twelve  of  the  members,  gro  vn  boys,  would  not 
sign  the  double  pledge  for  they  had  already  become  addicted 
to  the  use  of  either  cigars  or  the  quid.  It  is  with  pleasure, 
however,  that  I  record  the  fact  that  no  member  of  the  church 
or  son  of  a  Covenanter  was  included  in  the  twelve  exceptions. 
I  have  to  add  though  that  if  memory  is  not  imperfect  I  never 
heard  that  any  of  those  twelve  ever  united  with  any  church. 
On  the  other  hand  it  is  pleasant  to  record  that  I  never  heard 
of  any  of  the  entire  membership  violating  his  temperance 
pledge  except  one  who  when  the  war  broke  out  became  a 
soldier  and  was  not  able  to  resist  the  temptations  to  which 
the  boys  in  blue  were  exposed,  to  the  shame  of  the  govern- 
ment and  army  be  it  told.  That  soldier  was  the  son  of  a 
wicked  man  who  loved  strong  drink,  and  of  a  pious  mother 
who  lived  to  mourn  the  loss  of  her  son  buried  in  a  soldier's 
grave. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Work  at  Home  and  in  the  Courts. 

During  the  autumn  of  1858  I  saw  no  rest  from  excessive 
work,  much  of  it  outside  of  the  home  pastoral  duties  alwavs 
sufficient  for  one  man.  By  appointment  of  Presbytery  I 
went  to  Boston  to  administer  the  sacrament  of  the  supper  on 
the  fourth  Sabbath  of  October,  and  to  moderate  in  a  call  for 
a  pastor.  I  was  assisted  by  licentiate  F.  M.  Elder.  On 
Monday  after  the  services  he  was  elected  as  pastor.  Subse- 
quently he  declined  the  call.  As  Presbytery  was  to  meet  in 
New  York  that  week,  we  went  thither  by  way  of  the  Eong 
Island  steamer.  On  the  boat  I  fell  in  compan}'  with  my 
former  neighbors  froniTopsham.  Mr.  Isaac  Tabor  and  family, 
on  their  way  to  New  York  whence  they  were  soon  to  sail  for 
California.  Mr.  Tabor  had  been  a  merchant  in  Topsham,  a 
very  kind  neighbor,  a  regular  pewholder  in  our  church,  his 
beautiful  children  members  of  our  Sabbath-school,  a  great 
lover  of  music  and  ahvays  joining  heartily  in  singing  the 
psalms,  and  yet  a  Universalist  in  his  faith  if  he  had  any  at 
all.  One  day  we  were  riding  together  when  our  conversa- 
tion turned  upon  Universalism,  for  I  desired  to  win  him  from 
error  to  the  truth,  and  after  he  had  been  listening  for  a  few 
minutes  he  said:  "Well,  Mr.  Johnston,  I  can  not  believe 
that  a  man  can  continue  to  live  in  wickedness  and  die  with- 
out repentance  and  then  go  to  heaven."  Whatever  religious 
faith  he  had  was  only  in  theory,  for  he  was  given  up  to 
business.  In  this  he  succeeded  finely  for  a  series  of  years; 
but  reverses  came  and  he  became  bankrupt.  Having  lost 
(222) 


WORK    AT    HOME   AND   IN    THE)    COURTS.  223 

all,  he  was  too  proud  to  remain  in  Topsham  and  he  departed 
to  make  a  new  home  in  California.  Mr.  Tabor  was  a  kind- 
hearted  and  genial  man,  a  warm  friend  of  Elder  Parker  Mc- 
Niece,  and  such  a  kind  neighbor  to  the  pastor,  I  had  a  lov- 
ing regard  for  him.  When  he  and  his  family  reached  San 
Francisco  they  were  poor,  yet  they  courageously  went  to 
work  as  opportunity  was  afforded.  His  oldest  son,  Rodney, 
went  into  the  printing  office  of  the  Occident,  the  Presby- 
terian religious  organ.  The  editor,  Dr.  Woodbridge,  favored 
him.  Attending  Presbyterian  Church  and  Sabbath-school, 
he  became  a  disciple  of  Christ  in  that  church,  received  an 
education,  studied  theology,  and  was  called  to  the  pastorate 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Alameda,  Cal.  I  was  present 
at  his  ordination  and  installation  in  the  autumn  of  1875, 
seventeen  years  after  they  left  Vermont.  Perhaps  the  in- 
fluences that  resulted  in  all  this  began  during  the  years  of 
his  attendance  in  our  Sabbath-school  and  church.  Good 
seed  sown  in  faith  is  not  likely  to  be  wholly  lost.     Is  it  ever? 

During  the  November  meeting  of  Presbytery  in  New  York 
a  very  painful  event  occurred.  Rev.  S.  O.  Wylie  of  Phila- 
delphia instituted  a  libel  against  Rev.  Dr.  Christie  charging 
him  with  a  heinous  crime  against  the  law  of  the  seventh 
commandment.  This  made  an  extra  or  pro-re-nata  meet- 
ing of  Presbytery  necessary.  This  was  set  to  be  on  the 
30th  of  the  month,  when  I  would  have  to  return  to  New 
York.  Meanwhile  beside  the  regular  pastoral  work  some 
important  events  occurred  one  of  which  I  may  not  fail  to 
narrate.  I  will  do  this  by  copying  from  my  diary,  under 
the  date  of  Thursday,  November  t8,  when  I  wrote  the 
following: 

"I  have  just  returned  from  my  last  meeting  with  my  little 
.school  which  has  been  in  session  during  the  past  ten  weeks. 
Being  assisted  by  Miss  I^ora  Mills,  I  was  relieved  from  teach- 
ing all  clas.ses  except  Latin,  Algebra,  Astronomy  and  Moral 


224  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

Science.  I^ast  evening  we  had  a  literary  exhibition  in 
which  the  students  displayed  great  merit.  Besides  the 
ordinary  essays,  declamations,  and  orations,  the}-  read  a 
number  of  the  newspaper  published  by  the  society,  and  had  a 
debate  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  The  debater  who 
advocated  dissolution  received  no  applause,  while  the  other, 
opposing  it  and  defending  the  Union,  received  a  shower  of 
plaudits.  Afterwards  Mr.  Charles  Divoll,  in  an  oration  on 
New  England,  gave  a  slight  expression  in  favor  of  disunion 
which  at  the  close  of  the  oration  was  followed  by  hisses. 
Like  a  gentleman  he  rose,  stepped  forward  upon  the  plat- 
form and  said,  "Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  could  have  written 
an  oration  so  as  to  have  received  only  your  applause;  but  I 
did  not  choose  to  do  so.  I  spoke  my  sentiments.^''  I  can  not 
deny  that  I  was  proud  of  Charles  Divoll  that  night.  He 
had  grown  up  to  mature  youth  since  I  had  become  his 
pastor.  He  had  been  a  student  with  me  for  some  time.  He 
had  been  a  careful  hearer  of  the  Word  preached,  had  heard 
the  anti-slavery  gospel,  and  had  accepted  the  truth  of  the 
Covenanter  Church  of  which  he  was  now  an  active  member. 
And  so  when  he  did  not  cower  at  those  pro-slavery  hisses 
but  stood  up  in  his  young  Christian  manhood  and  said:  "I 
spoke  my  sentiments,"  I  admired  him  and  loved  him. 

Of  Charles  Divoll  we  will  hear  more  on  subsequent  pages. 
All  that  need  be  written  now  is  that  he  was  the  oldest  son  of 
Elder  Josiah  Divoll,  a  noble  youth  who  had  made  a  public 
profession  of  faith  in  Christ  a  year  or  so  before  the  event 
recorded  above.  He  was  a  diligent  student,  exemplary  in 
his  deportment,  the  hope  of  his  father  and  the  pride  of  his 
sisters.  He  desired  to  obtain  a  good  education,  but  his 
father  did  not  wish  to  send  him  away  from  home  for  this 
purpose  lest  he  might  be  exposed  to  temptations  which  he 
would  not  be  able  to  resist.  And  for  this  son's  j-ake,  in 
part,  the  father  had  previously  urged  me  to  teach  a  private 


WORK    AT    HOME    AND    IN   THE    COURTS.  225 

class.  As  this  grew  into  a  little  school  with  only  two  short 
sessions  of  ten  weeks  in  the  5'ear,  Charles  continued  to  work 
on  the  farm  most  of  the  year.  After  he  became  well  pre- 
pared he  taught  public  school  a  few  terms.  Then  he  was 
appointed  town  superintendent  of  schools  and  served  honor- 
ably for  one  or  two  years  prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  in  which  he  enlisted  early  in  its  prog- 
ress as  a  soldier  in  the  Vermont  Sixth  Regiment. 

To  attend  the  pro-re-nata  meeting  of  Presbytery  on  the 
30th  of  November,  I  left  home  with  a  sad  heart  knowing 
that  as  a  Presbyter  I  would  be  called  to  a  most  painful 
duty— the  trial  of  an  aged  minister  who  all  his  life  had  been 
prominent,  and  a  man  greatly  beloved  by  many  in  the 
church  and  who  was  now  a  professor  in  the  theological 
seminary.  Probably  I  felt  it  more  deeply  as  I  remembered 
that  at  my  ordination  and  installation  he  had  presided  and 
upon  my  head  he  had  imposed  the  hands  of  a  Presbyter. 
And  I  could  not  forget  that  afterwards,  by  appointment  of 
Presbytery,  I  had  assisted  him  during  a  communion  season 
in  the  third  New  York  congregation  then  vacant;  and  that 
the  other  assistant  was  Rev.  S.  O.  Wylie  who  now  came 
before  Presbytery  as  the  accuser  of  Dr.  Christie.  Because 
of  this  and  similar  facts  I  would  have  remained  at  home  if 
I  did  not  fear  that  I  might  be  chargeable  with  insubordina- 
tion. 

After  the  Presbytery  was  prepared  for  the  trial.  Dr. 
Christie  being  present,  the  libel  was  read  and  he  was  asked 
if  he  were  guilty,  or  if  he  vi^ould  put  himself  upon  trial. 
He  then  arose  and  read  a  written  paper  in  which  he  declined 
the  authority  of  the  court  and  heaped  reproaches  upon  the 
Presbytery  and  ministers  of  other  Presbyteries.  As  soon 
as  he  had  finished  the  reading  he  withdrew  and  left  the 
house. 

Notwithstanding  his  withdrawal  Presbytery  proceeded  to 
15 


226  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

the  trial  as  if  he  had  been  present.  Many  persons,  both 
men  and  women,  some  of  these,  no  doubt,  farmer  members 
of  the  congregation  when  he  was  pastor,  were  present  to 
hear  the  trial.  Some  member  of  Presbytery  without  giving 
a  reason,  moved  that  the  women  be  required  or  requested  to 
retire  or  leave  the  church.  It  was  likely  to  pass  without 
debate  for  it  would  probably  be  taken  for  granted  that  the 
testimony  would  be  such  as  women  should  not  hear.  I  saw 
at  once  that  it  was  improper  and  unjust  for  Presbytery  to 
make  an  unwarranted  distinction  between  men  and  women, 
and  urged  that  women,  Covenanter  women  (I  think  there 
were  no  young  women  present)  had  as  good  a  right  as  men 
Lo  hear  the  trial,  that  there  was  no  reason  why  it  would  1  e 
improper  for  women  to  hear  the  testimony  that  would  not 
apply  equallj'  to  men,  for  men  should  be  chaste  as  well  as 
women,  and  that  women  who  loved  their  old  pastor  should 
have  the  opportunity  as  well  as  the  men"  to  hear  the  trial 
and  know  that  no  injustice  was  done  to  him.  And  I  urged 
that  at  all  events  the  women  themselves  should  be  the  j  udges, 
not  Presbytery,  whether  it  was  proper  and  right  for  them  to 
remain.  I  do  not  remember  whether  an}-  one  spoke  in  favor 
of  the  motion,  but  when  it  was  put  it  was  voted  down;  and 
the  women  remained.  Probably  it  was  at  the  next  session 
of  the  court  or  the  next  day,  some  one  handed  me  a  letter 

sajnng,  "Mrs.  asked  me  to  hand  this  letter  to  you."     I 

opened  it  and  found  a  five  dollar  bank-note  in  it,  but  it  had 
no  name  and  gave  no  reason  for  the  dui.a'.i  >n;  I  supposed, 
however,  that  it  was  to  show  her  appreciation  of  ni)^  action 
in  Presbytery  the  day  before. 

The  trial  was  protracted  as  well  as  painful.  The  evi- 
dence was  of  several  kinds,  and  all  tended  to  conviction. 
Among  others  were  letters  in  the  accused's  own  handwrit- 
ing. It  was  my  unhappy  lot  to  be  one  of  a  committee  of 
three  to  read  these  letters  and  report  their  character.     The 


WORK    AT    HOME    AND    IN    THE    COURTS.  227 

readers  could  not  doubt  the  guilt  of  the  writer.  The  other 
evidences  were  as  convincing.  Presbytery  was  unanimous 
in  the  decision  that  the  accused  was  guilty  of  adultery. 
The  sin  was  the  more  aggravated  because  the  wife  of  the 
accused,  though  an  invalid,  was  yet  living.  He  was  de- 
posed from  office  and  suspended  from  the  privileges  of  the 
church  until  evincing  repentance. 

This  case  of  scandal,  probably  the  most  aggravated  of  the 
kind  ever  occurring  in  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
in  America,  was  painfully  humihating.  Sadness  and  gloom 
rested  upon  the  whole  church,  and  the  wound  inflicted  was 
long  in  healing.  What  lesson  the  Head  of  the  church  was 
teaching  her  was  not  known,  but  it  clearly  showed  into  what 
an  abyss  of  depravity  man  has  fallen  and  from  which  there  is 
no  rescue  but  by  the  blood  of  the  atonement. 

After  the  adjournment  of  Presbytery  I  met  with  a  disap- 
pointment that  prevented  me  from  getting  home  before 
Sabbath.  Being  detained  I  had  opportunity  to  hear  several 
eminent  speakers  and  persons,  as  Horace  Greeley  and  Dr. 
Cheever,  at  a  public  meeting  in  favor  of  "the  People's 
College,"  Cornell.  Also  George  P.  Marsh  and  Henry 
Ward  Beecher.  The  theme  of  the  latter  was,  "Sympathy 
in  common  life."  It  is  no  wonder  that  "the  great  Brooklyn 
preacher"  was  so  popular.  On  Sabbath  I  preached  for  Dr. 
Sloane  and  in  the  evening  heard  him  preach  on  "the  Bible 
in  the  public  schools." 

After  Sabbath  I  hurried  home.  Among  letters  that  had 
accumulated  I  found  one  giving  me  the  unexpected  and 
painful  intelligence  of  the  defection  of  my  oldest  brother. 
Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston.  He  had  left  the  Old  Covenanter 
Church  and  gone  into  the  United  Presbyterian.  He  had 
always  been  a  bold  and  uncompromising  advocate  of  Refor- 
mation principles.  In  my  early  life  he  had  been  my  teacher 
and  one  of  my  most  influential  friends  to  lead  me  into  the 


228  1.00KING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

witnessing  church.  In  his  mature  youth  he  had  come  out 
of  the  great  Presbyterian  Church,  and  I  was  baptized  in  the 
same.  When  I  united  with  the  Covenanter  Church  I 
followed  his  example.  Like  myself  probably  nearly  the 
whole  church  would  have  said:  "John  B.  Johnston  was  the 
last  man  I  would  have  thought  to  be  likely  to  leave  the 
church."  I  leinied  afterwards  that  his  friends  in  Ohio 
apologized  for  him  on  the  ground  that  he  had  been  wronged 
or  persecuted  bj^  brethren,  ministers  and  laymen,  in  the 
church.  They  said  he  never  would  have  gone  out  if  he  had 
not  been  driven  out.  Some  alleged  that  he  was  "courted" 
by  the  United  Presb3-terians.  To  me,  his  youngest  brother, 
neither  reason  seemed  valid  or  of  any  force.  To  grant 
either  would  assume  that  he  was  a  man  of  weak  mind.  But 
he  was  not.  If  persecuted  or  wronged  he  should  have  en- 
dured patiently,  and  gone  forward  in  the  path  of  duty  until  the 
Head  of  his  church  would  vindicate  his  cause.  If  '  'courted' ' 
or  tempted,  he  should  have  resisted  and  continued  to  "stand 
up  for  Jesus' '  as  Lord  of  nations.  It  is  more  probable  that 
he  had  changed  his  opinions  as  to  the  importance  or  practi- 
cabilit}'  of  our  distinctive  principles,  if  he  did  not  disapprove 
of  them  entirel}'.  That  he  continued  to  believe,  as  formerly, 
that  incorporation  with  the  government  is  sin,  is  not  pre- 
sumable because  it  is  improbable  that  he  ever  advocated  the 
duty  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  to  exercise  discipline 
against  her  members  who  do  incorporate. 

I  think  several  j^ears  had  passed  after  my  brother's  con- 
nection with  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  before  I  met 
him.  At  that  time — it  was  when  I  visited  him  in  his  own 
home — we  conversed  freely  on  the  subject.  I  was  grieved 
at  his  departure  from  the  old  church  I  loved  so  well,  and  I 
assumed  the  aggressive  and  tried  to  show  that  he  had  made 
defection  and  had  gone  into  a  church  occupying  a  lower  posi- 
tion and  in  sinful  connection  with  an  antichristian  govern- 


Work  at  home  and  in  the  courTvS.  229 

ment.  He  replied  that  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  is  a 
reforming  and  rising  and  progressive  church  while  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  is  a  divided  and  retrogressive 
body.  As  our  conversation  assumed  the  character  of  contro- 
versy he  became  vexed  or  excited  aim  st  to  passion.  This 
made  me  so  sorry  that  I  ceased  to  contend.  I  remembered 
that  he  was  my  senior  by  more  than  eighteen  years  and  that 
he  always  had  loved  me  and  had  ever  been  exceedingly 
kind  to  me.  I  had  ever  loved  him  and  looked  up  to  him; 
and  I  knew  I  would  ever  love  him.  And  so  when  I  left  his 
house  I  resolved  that  I  never  would  introduce  the  unpleasant 
theme  again;  and  I  never  did. 

In  May  1859  Synod  met  at  Pittsburg.  I  lodged  with 
Dr.  Samuel  Sterritt,  afterwards  an  elder  in  the  Pittsburg 
congregation.  It  was  during  the  days  of  Synod's  sessions 
that  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  young  David  Metheny 
who  was  studying  medicine  with  his  uncle,  Dr.  Sterritt.  He 
was  a  young  man  of  such  amiability  and  rare  excellence 
I  became  greatly  attached  to  him,  though  at  that  time  I  had 
no  thought  that  he  would  ever  be  a  medical  missionary. 

During  the  days  of  Synod  I  was  a  voluntary  reporter  of 
the  daily  proceedings.  They  were  published  according  to 
previous  arrangements  in  the  Pittsburg  Daily  Gazette  and 
mailed  to  all  throughout  the  church  who  had  ordered  them. 
This  was  the  first  time  that  ever  full  Sy nodical  reports  were 
given  in  a  daily  paper.  At  several  subsequent  Synods  I 
gave  similar  reports.  For  one  or  two  years  Rev.  R.  Z. 
Willson  gave  reports  but  they  were  printed  in  pamphlet 
form.  After  I  ceased  to  publish  the  daily  reports  Synod 
appointed  her  own  reporters;  and  so  the  practise  has  con- 
tinucG  since. 

After  the  adjournment  of  this  Synod  I  went  from  Pitts- 
burg to  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  to  meet  my  brother  J.  B.  and 
his  family.     He  had  accepted  a  call  from  the  United  Presby- 


230  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

terian  congregation  of  that  place  and  was  removing  thither. 
We  met  at  Bridgeport  on  the  Ohio  River  and  rode  together 
to  St.  Clairsville.  He  invited  me  to  preach  for  him  part  of 
the  Sabbath;  and  in  the  evening  at  5  o'clock  I  preached  by 
the  invitation  of  the  pastor  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  As 
twelve  or  thirteen  years  had  passed  since  I  had  been  back  to 
that  old  town  where  I  had  been  a  teacher  before  I  entered 
upon  theological  studies,  many  old  friends  and  former  stu- 
dents came  to  see  me  and  I  enjoyed  my  visit  there  very 
much.  As  my  brother  had  not  yet  begun  to  keep  house  I 
was  entertained  in  the  family  of  my  old  friend  William  Askew, 
the  father-in-law  of  my  lifelong  friend,  Dr.  Tidball.  Mrs. 
Tidball  was  visiting  at  her  father's  at  the  time  William 
Askew  and  family  were  Orthodox  Friends  (Quakers)  and 
most  excellent  people.  When  I  was  teaching  in  the  academy 
there  they  all  were  Quakers.  After  the  marriage  of  Dr. 
Tidball  to  Martha,  the  second  daughter,  she  united  with  the 
United  Presb)'terian  Church  as  the  doctor  had  done.  Sub- 
sequently Ann  Askew,  the  oldest  daughter,  united  with  the 
same  church  and  was  a  member  of  it  when  my  brother  became 
the  pastor  in  St.  Clairsville.  And  I  desire  to  record  here  my 
testimony  to  the  excellenc}-  of  the  character  of  Ann  Askew 
whom  I  knew  well  and  with  whom  as  an  intelligent  and 
earnest  Christian  I  was  intimately  acquainted  so  long.  For 
amiability  of  temperament,  for  refined  culture,  and  for  con- 
versational powers  as  well  as  true  piety,  I  have  never  known 
many  if  any  superiors.  Though  educated  a  Friend  she  con- 
tinued to  the  end  of  a  long  life  a  consistent  member  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church. 

On  my  return  home  from  S3'nod  I  found  plenty  of  work 
that  needed  a  worker.  Entries  made  in  my  journal  from 
time  to  time  show  that  I  had  little  or  no  rest.  I  did  not 
complain,  rather  I  rejoiced  in  it,  for  I  know  that  I  loved  the 
work — work  for  Christ  and  for  his  own,  the  flock  over  which 


WORK   AT   HOME   AND   IN   THE   COURTS.  231 

he  had  made  nie  his  shepherd.  I  see  that  soon  after  my 
arrival  home  the  following  entry  was  made:  "And  now  I 
praise  God  for  his  goodness  in  bringing  me  safely  back  to 
my  dear  flock.  My  prayers  shall  be  that  the  Good  Shep- 
herd may  go  before  me  and  lead  me  and  his  flock  here  by  the 
still  waters  and  in  the  green  pastures.  And,  O  that  I  may 
be  instrumental  of  bringing  many  into  the  fold  under  Christ 
the  Head.  I  long  to  see  sinners  flocking  to  him  that  he  may 
be  glorified  and  many  saved. ' ' 

On  the  second  Sabbath  after  ray  return  home  I  assisted 
Rev.  Beattie  at  his  communion  in  Barnet.  Served  three 
tables.  On  Monday  after  preaching  I  baptized  ten  or  fifteen 
children.  That  congregation,  like  Ryegate,  (Mr.  Beattie 
was  pastor  of  both)  was  made  up  largely  of  either  the  chil- 
dren of  Scotch  people  or  of  pure  Yankees.  The  women  were 
not  ashamed  of  motherhood,  and  the  mothers  trained  their 
children  for  Christ. 

Two  Sabbaths  afterwards  was  our  communion  in  Topsham. 
As  at  several  previous  times,  I  was  greatly  encouraged  by 
the  conversion  of  youths  most  of  whom  were  brought  in 
from  the  world.  On  the  Monday  before  the  communion  five 
young  people  were  admitted  into  the  church.  They  were 
converted  from  the  world  or  from  families  of  other  churches. 
One  was  a  son  of  a  Congregationalist,  one  the  daughter  of 
Congregational  parents,  one  was  educated  in  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland,  another  was  a  member  of  an  irreligious  family, 
the  fifth  was  of  Covenanter  parentage.  The  heart  of  the 
pastor  was  full  of  gratitude  to  God.  I  find  this  entry  in  my 
journal  of  that  date,  June  26,  1859:  "For  this  addition  to  the 
church  I  thank  God  and  take  courage.  Jesus  has  heard  my 
prayer.  O  that  I  may  be  able  to  consecrate  myself  to  him 
and  his  church.  There  are  more  sheep  and  lambs,  I  can  not 
doubt,  belonging  to  Christ  in  the  bounds  of  the  congregation. 
O  that  I  may  be  instrumental  of  bringing  them  into  the  fold. ' ' 


i^2  tOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

At  that  communion  I  was  greatly  helped  by  Rev.  J.  R.  W. 
Sloane,  the  assistant;  and  Rev.  Beattie  also  preached  two 
or  three  times.  The  "action  sermon"  was  from  that  great 
text,  2  Cor.  3  :  lo.  "For  even  that  which  was  made  glori- 
ious  had  no  glory  in  this  respect,  by  reason  of  the  glory  that 
excelleth."  My  journal  records  that  there  were  three  tables 
and  fifty-five  communicants,  and  adds:  "The  house  was  full 
to  overflowing,  and  nearly  all  remained  to  the  very  last  of 
the  services.  Great  interest  w^as  manifested.  I  fondl}'  hope 
that  it  was  a  good  day  and  that  the  Saviour  rejoiced  in  his 
w^orks.  My  soul,  bless  God  for  his  goodness  to  us  heie  in 
Topsham."  My  soul  did  rejoice  in  God  my  Saviour.  The 
recent  converts  who  were  at  the  communion  table  for  the 
first  time  made  my  heart  glad.  Such  was  the  condition  of 
the  community  and  so  many  deaths  occurred,  especially  of 
the  old  people  of  the  congregation,  the  membership  would 
have  decreased  rather  than  otherwise  if  these  additions  from 
time  to  time  had  not  occurred.  Besides,  commmiion  seasons 
always  seemed  to  me,  and  I  think  to  many  of  the  people  I 
loved  so  much  in  Christ,  as  seasons  of  genuine  revival. 

Having  finished  my  lectures  on  the  two  Epistles  of  Peter 
I  undertook  a  great  work  and  wrote  the  following  in  my 
journal  under  the  date  of  July  23,  1859:  "After  much 
hesitation  I  concluded  to  undertake  the  exposition  of  the 
prophecies  of  Isaiah.  Though  I  have  sought  divine  direc- 
tion, I  enter  upon  the  work  with  trepidation.  And  I  may 
add,  it  is  very  uncertain  that  I  shall  live  to  finish  so  great  an 
undertaking.  If  I  live  to  complete  the  lectures,  it  will  take 
years  of  hard  labor  both  in  my  study  and  in  the  pulpit." 

Nearly  five  decades  of  years  have  passed  since  those  lines 
were  written;  and  now  I  can  say  that  I  never  regretted,  not 
much  at  least,  that  I  undertook  that  very  difficult  task.  I 
sometimes  feared  that  I  had  shown  too  much  temerity  in  the 
attempt;  but  as  I  progressed  in  the  study  and  exposition  I 


Work  at  home  and  in  the  courts.  233 

became  so  interested  and  felt  that  I  derived  so  much  profit, 
and  all  the  while  hoped  that  I  was  useful  to  the  people,  I 
approved  of  my  own  action.  As  I  advanced  in  the  study  I 
saw  more  and  more  the  propriety  of  the  name  commonly 
given  to  Isaiah,  "the  Evangelical  Prophet."  And  during 
the  course  of  lectures,  always  given  in  the  forenoon,  I  often 
found  in  the  verses  expounded  rich  texts  for  the  afternoon 
sermons.  And  when  I  came  to  the  fifty- third  chapter  I 
omitted  the  lectures  and  preached  in  the  forenoon  a  sermon 
on  every  verse,  sometimes  two.  Where  in  all  the  New 
Testament  can  a  preacher  find  better  texts  for  "Gospel 
sermons ' '  ? 

Not  long  after  beginning  these  lectures  I  had  another 
favorable  opportunity  to  gratify  my  love  of  the  grand  in 
nature.  If  I  need  to  apologize  for  copying  from  my  journal 
of  that  date  it  will  be  this;  that  at  that  time  modern  improve- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  White  Mountain  tourists  were  un- 
known, and  in  the  fact  that  at  that  time  I  had  not  crossed 
the  Rocky  Mountains  nor  had  I  seen  the  more  beautiful  and 
grand  Sierra  Nevadas  with  their  matchless  Yo  Semite  Valley. 

"Thursday,  August  11.  Last  night  I  returned  from  the 
White  Mountains  which  I  was  visiting  in  company  with  my 
dear  friend  Rev.  J.  M.  Armour.  I  left  home  on  Monday 
and  met  him  at  Ivittleton,  N.  H.,  whence  we  passed  on  to 
Bethlehem  to  lodge  overnight.  Early  Tuesday  morning  we 
started  and  rode  to  Braebrook's  Hotel  for  breakfast,  and 
thence  five  miles  to  the  Crawford  House  at  the  entrance  of 
the  White  Mountain  Notch.  Here  we  arrived  just  in  time 
to  join  a  party  of  fifty  seven  on  horseback  to  ascend  Mount 
Washington.  We  left  at  about  9  o'clock  and  arrived  at  the 
summit  at  about  i  p.  m.  The  path  leads  up  the  forest- 
covered  side  of  the  mountain  for  some  three  or  four  miles, 
after  which  it  comes  out  upon  bare  mountain  tops.  Before 
we  reach  Mt.  Washington  we  pass  over  the  other  mountains 


234      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

— Clinton,  Pleasant,  Monroe.  The  path  is  steep,  craggy, 
rough,  stony,  dangerous,  wild;  and  to  one  who  is  unused  to 
such  a  sight,  it  would  seem  impossible  for  horses  to  pass  it. 
The  view  from  the  mountains  as  we  ascend  is  grand.  From 
Washington  it  is  so  magnificent,  .so  far  beyond  my  most 
sanguine  expectations,  I  could  never  describe  it.  Soul  ele- 
vating indeed  is  the  vision.  I  feel  that  I  not  only  know  more 
but  I  hope  am  better  since  ni}-  feet  stood  on  that  mountain 
summit,  6,200  feet  high.  What  grand  and  awful  mountains 
and  chasms  lie  in  every  direction,  no  person  can  describe. 
And  those  White  Mountains!  Pile  upon  pile,  they  tower 
up,  up,  up  until  the  peak  of  Washington  seems  to  be  in 
heaven.  And  how  craggy,  rocky,  grand,  and  picture.sque — 
no!  how  vast,  majestic,  awful!  What  is  He  whose  hand 
rolled  up  those  everlasting  hills  ? 

"I  should  have  said  that  there  were  about  one  hundred 
people,  probably  one-third  of  them  ladies,  on  the  summit 
when  we  were  there.  Nearly  one  hundred  took  dinner  at 
the  Tip  Top  House.  The  provisions  are  all  carried  up  on 
pack-horses,  eight  or  nine  miles  from  below.  Never  shall  I 
regret  my  visit  to  Mt.  Washington."  On  the  Sabbath  after 
my  return  from  the  mountains,  while  the  pictures  on  my 
mind  were  fresh,  I  preached  from  the  text:  "Great  and 
marvelous  are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty!"  Of  course 
I  used  the  old  classification,  works  of  creation,  of  provi- 
dence, and  of  redemption  or  grace. 

During  the  years  now  passing  I  think  there  was  in  that 
part  of  Vermont  a  very  great  interest  in  the  cause  of  Sab- 
bath-schools. Never  since  have  I  seen  anything  like  it. 
Within  two  weeks  after  my  return  from  the  White  Moun- 
tains there  were  two  very  large  public  meetings,  or  "celebra- 
tions," so  called,  in  the  interest  of  Sabbath-schools.  The 
first  was  at  Bradford  to  which  I  was  invited  and  special 
duty    assigned.     Several    thousands   were   present,    mostly 


WORK    AT    HOME    AND    IN    THE    COURTS.  235 

Sabbath-school  scholars  and  workers  including  pastors  and 
people.  The  whole  day  was  spent  in  appropriate  exercises. 
My  old  friend,  Dr.  McKeen,  was  most  active  and  prominent. 
The  next  week  our  Topsham  Sabbath-school  and  seven 
others  from  the  adjacent  towns  and  villages  united  in  a 
grand  celebration  or  festival  at  Waits  River  village  in  an 
adjacent  grove.  As  at  Bradford,  several  thousands  were 
present,  brass  band  music,  feasting  at  long  tables  burdened 
with  the  richest  viands  that  Vermont  women  could  supply, 
and  four  addresses  by  selected  speakers.  Rev.  Professor 
N.  P.  Gushing,  Rev.  Kingsbury,  J.  O.  Peck,  a  theological 
student,  and  the  Topsham  pastor.  The  subject  of  his 
address  was:  "This  is  the  Children's  Age:  It  is  the  Prelude 
of  the  Golden."  Nearly  the  whole  day  was  spent  in  those 
joyful  festivities;  and  the  good  people  of  Topsham  were 
proud  of  their  Sabbath-school  which  was  the  largest  of  the 
whole  number  present.  It  is  probable  that  never  afterwards 
was  it  any  larger  but  soon  began  to  diminish  as  not  long 
afterwards  the  ever  active  Methodists  organized  a  new  and 
separate  school  and  graduall}'  drew  off  some  of  our  outside 
or  mission  .scholars  as  well  as  their  own  children. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Eventful  Days. 

The  fall  meeting  of  Presbytery  occurred  on  the  2d  of 
November.  The  days  preceding  and  following  were  some- 
what eventful.  Having  an  appointment  at  Boston,  for  the 
congregation  was  yet  vacant,  on  my  way  thither  I  stopped 
oflf  at  Manchester  and  Eawrence,  Mass.,  to  visit  several 
friends  employed  in  the  mills,  some  of  them  members  of 
Topsham  congregation.  At  Boston  I  met  licentiate  J.  C.  K. 
Faris,  the  first  time,  I  think.  He  preached  for  me  one-half 
of  the  day;  and  on  Monday  we  traveled  to  New  York  to- 
gether. He  was  a  pleasant  as  well  as  intelligent  traveling 
companion. 

On  Monday  evening  in  New  York  I  called  upon  a  friend 
at  No.  26  Twenty-third  Street,  with  whom  I  spent  the 
evening  at  the  celebrated  Dusseldorf  Gallery  of  Paintings. 
On  Tuesday  evening  after  hearing  the  sermon  at  the  open- 
ing of  Presbytery  I  was  taken  sick.  The  next  morning 
though  unable  to  eat  breakfast  I  went  to  Presbytery  but 
was  soon  attacked  with  sickness  so  violent  that  I  had  to  ask 
leave  of  absence  from  Presbytery.  I  went  to  my  home-like 
lodgings  at  Mr.  Andrew  Knox's,  went  to  bed  and  did  not 
leave  my  roDm  until  the  morning  of  the  third  day.  This 
temporary  sickness,  the  severest  I  had  experienced  for  years, 
was,  I  suppose,  the  result  of  the  use  of  unhealthy  diet  for 
some  time  especially  after  leaving  home.  To  disobey  is  to 
suffer.  Friday  the  4th  was  spent  with  a  special  friend  in 
visiting  that  beautiful  and  populous  city  of  the  dead,  Green- 

(236) 


EVENTFUL    DAYS.  237 

wood  Cemetery.  The  evening  was  spent  in  the  Inter- 
national Art  Gallery  of  Paintings.  Saturday  was  spent  at 
the  Egyptian  Museum  of  Antiquities  and  in  Central  Park. 
This  was  about  the  first  time  since  I  had  begun  to  preach 
that  I  could  find  time  to  visit  so  many  desirable  places. 
Perhaps  between  the  lines  the  reader  may  be  able  to  see  the 
reason. 

It  was  not  long  after  my  return  home  that  we  heard 
startling  news  from  Harper's  Ferry.  Topsham  village  is 
hid  among  the  hills  and  twelve  miles  away  from  the  Con- 
necticut River  Railroad.  At  that  time  there  was  no  tele- 
graphic communication  with  the  outside  world  except  as 
brought  to  us  by  the  newspaper.  The  account  of  the  bloody 
s:;enes  that  occurred  at  Harper's  Ferry  on  the  night  of 
the  17th  of  October,  1859,  reached  us  first  by  the  New 
York  Tribime.  It  sent  a  thrill  to  the  hearts  of  all  classes 
interested  in  the  question  of  slavery.  Covenanters  espe- 
cially were  anxious  to  know  the  result  of  the  trial  of 
Captain  John  Brown.  Very  few  others  were  in  sympathy 
with  the  old  hero  who  had  dared  to  take  the  sword  to  cut  the 
bondman's  chain.  Indeed,  we  were  so  anxious  about  the 
result  of  the  trial  we  had  little  time  to  discuss  the  question 
of  the  rightfulness  of  his  raid  upon  the  slaveholders  in 
Virginia.  Subsequently  the  intelligence  of  his  being  con- 
demned to  death  by  a  Virginia  court,  and  that  on  the  2d 
of  the  approaching  December  he  would  be  hung,  gave  to 
some  of  us  both  sad  hearts  and  indignant  souls.  At  the 
first  opportunity — it  was  the  first  Sabbath  after  my  return 
from  Presbytery — my  afternoon's  sermon  was  from  the  text: 
Eccl.  7  17.  "Oppression  maketh  a  wivSeman  mad."  When 
that  sermon  was  preached,  about  seventeen  months  before 
Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  none  of  us  could  foresee  a 
War  of  RebsUioLi;  probably  very  few  northerners  either 
expected  or  feared  a  war  so  soon  if  at  all.     The  lack  of  such 


238  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   I.AND. 

expectation  will  appear  in  the  following  extracts  from  the 
notes  of  the  discourse.  They  are  given  here  and  now  only 
to  put  on  record  what  was  thought  in  advance  of  the  hang- 
ing of  John  Brown  and  what  the  Topsham  Covenanters 
endorsed  at  that  time.  The  occasion  was  peculiar  and  the 
discourse  was  an  exception.  Its  sentiments  may  not  be 
judged  from  the  standpoint  of  tc-day  but  from  that  of 
nearly  forty  years  ago  when  we  had  not  begun  to  fear  a 
Civil  War.  A  few  sentences  will  suffice  to  show  the  tenor 
of  the  whole. 

"Hurried  to  trial  before  his  wounds  are  healed,  and  before 
his  counsel  can  be  brought  forward,  he  is  condemned  as  a 
traitor,  an  inciter  of  insurrection,  and  as  a  murderer.  But 
he  did  not  commit  treason,  he  failed  to  incite  insurrection, 
and  he  did  not  intend  to  shed  blood,  nor  did  he  until  attacked 
and  compelled  to  strike  in  self-defense.  If  he  be  hung  he 
will  die  a  martyr  to  principle.  His  zeal  may  have  been 
rash  but  his  motive  was  good.  A  martyr  to  liberty  wWl 
John  Brown  die.  His  blood  will  cry  for  vengeance,  and  from 
that  blood  will  rise  up  thousands  of  John  Browns  armed 
with  moral  weapons  and  sworn  to  conquer  and  to  destro}- 
slavery  or  die.  The  terror  with  which  this  event  fell  upon 
the  south,  shows  the  conscious  weakness  of  4he  system. 
Slaveholders  know  they  tread  on  a  volcano.  What  would 
Virginia  be  without  the  power  of  the  United  States  to  keep 
down  her  slaves  ?  Such  scenes  must  be  reenacted.  Insur- 
rection will  be  the  order  of  the  day,  the  rule,  not  the  excep- 
tion. Oppression  will  yet  madden  the  slave,  and  who  can 
stay  the  hand  of  justice?  That  divine  attribute  can  not 
always  slumber.  How^  heartless  are  politicians  who  are 
earnestl}^  calculating  only  the  effect  this  tragedy  wull  have 
on  their  party!  Where  is  the  guilt?  What  caused  this 
bloodshed  ?  What  trained  John  Brown  to  this  ?  How  comes 
he  to  lie  in  a  murderer's  cell  ?     At  whose  hand  will  God  re- 


EVENTFUL    DAYS.  239 

quire  the  blood  of  this  victim  of  malicious  wrong?  Of  the 
people  who  hate  the  colored  man,  who  sustain  and  apologize 
for  the  vile  system,  who  sustain  a  slaveholding  civil  govern- 
ment and  Federal  Union,  and  who  in  their  church  relations 
strike  hands  with  the  oppressor.  What  is  our  duty  ?  Pray 
for  the  old  hero.  Imitate  his  zeal,  not  his  unwisdom.  Oh, 
it  is  good  that  even  one  man  can  go  mad,  as  they  say  Brown 
is,  in  hatred  of  slavery!  Is  it  not  strange  that  there  are  so 
few  who  become  frenzied  in  hatred  of  oppression?  If  John 
Brown  be  mad  I  would  rather  be  a  mad  man  than  be  among 
his  butcherers  and  his  murderers.  I  would  rather  be  in  his 
lonely  cell  or  die  his  martj-red  death  than  be  the  slaveholder 
or  a  pitiful  apologizer  for  the  'sum  of  all  villainies. '  Give 
us  John  Brown's  zeal  rather  than  cold-hearted  apathy  when 
millions  lie  bleeding  under  the  iron  heel  of  the  oppressor." 
As  usual  there  were  many  in  the  church  besides  the 
"Presbyterians" — some  pro-slaver}^  Democrats  besides  many 
Republican  politicians  most  of  whom  were  strongly  anti- 
slavery.  I  did  not  preach  to  please  any  of  them.  I  thought 
I  had  the  approbation  of  the  Master  and  I  felt  confident  that 
the  Covenanters  would  stand  up  for  the  right.  That  the 
young  men  of  the  church  followed  their  pastor,  evidence  was 
not  lacking.  To  be  able  to  judge  rightly  of  their  character 
and  actions  the  reader  must  remember  that  the.se  events 
occurred  eighteen  months  before  the  southerners  attacked 
Fort  Sumter  and  two  or  three  years  before  northern 
soldiers  sang: 

'John  Brown's  body  lies  moldering  in  the  grave, 
As  we  go  marching  on." 

The  evening  after  the  hanging  of  John  Brown  the  Aboli- 
tionists of  Topsham  held  a  public  meeting  in  the  town  hall 
at  which  resolutions  were  introduced  and  discu.ssed  in  part. 
During  the  week  following  the  hanging  there  were  three  or 
four  meetings,  all  largely  attended,  at  which  the  discussions 


240  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

continued  until  the  resolutions  were  finally  disposed  of. 
Among  the  speakers  who  stood  in  defense  of  the  Charles- 
town  martj^r  were  young  Robert  McNiece  and  Charles  Divoll. 
They  used  no  carefully  studied  words  to  please  pro-slavery 
politicians  or  apologizers.  While  young  McNiece  was  speak- 
ing from  his  place  in  the  audience,  a  big  stout  man  walked 
excitedly  and  hurriedly  to  the  speaker  and,  shaking  his 
weapon  at  him,  ordered  him  to  "stop  that  talk,"  or  some- 
thing like  that.  The  speaker  did  not  stop.  Too  much 
Scotch  and  Yankee  blood  was  running  hot  in  his  veins.  But 
the  words  were  scarcely  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  man  with 
the  bludgeon  when  two  muscular  Abolitionists  rushed  up  to 
him,  caught  him  by  the  arms  and,  pulling  him  away,  ordered 
him  to  sit  down  and  behave  himself  He  believed  that 
obedience  was  the  better  part  of  valor,  and  young  McNiece 
finished  his  John  Brown  speech.  The  reader  may  not  know 
that  that  Covenanter  boy  was  then  a  student  in  Dartmouth, 
afterwards  a  popular  principal  of  a  city  High  School,  then  a 
masterly  editor  of  a  daily  paper,  then  a  theological  student 
in  Princeton  but  a  Covenanter  no  more,  and  then  the  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  a  man 
who  fought  so  nobly  in  the  battle  against  polygamy  that 
Joseph  Cook  said  of  him:  "There  is  no  man  in  Utah  whom 
the  Mormons  fear  so  much  as  little  Dr.  McNiece." 

After  the  Harper's  Ferry  disaster,  and  especiall}-  after  the 
martyrdom  of  John  Brown,  the  excitement  that  always 
accompanied  the  discussion  of  the  anti-slaver}-  question  con- 
tinued to  increase  all  over  the  north.  Throughout  the  south 
there  was  a  growing  apprehension  of  a  coming  storm.  Slave- 
holders were  becoming  more  and  more  alarmed  and  more 
threatening  in  their  demands.  They  were  angered  at  their 
failure  to  make  California  a  slave  state.  And  then  when  the 
struggle  in  Kansas  resulted  in  forever  shutting  out  slavery 
and  in  securing  it  safe  to  freedom  for  all  time,  the  wrath  of 


R.   G.   McNiECE,    D,    D. 


EVENTFUL    DAYS. 


241 


the  slave  power  was  almost  demoniac.     What  John  Brown 
the  fiery  soldier  had  done  to  repel  the  border  ruffians  who 
had  determined  to  make  Kansas  a  slave  state,  was  well  known 
to  southerners.     When  now  they  had  the  Kansas  soldier  at 
their  mercy  in  a  Virginian  prison,  they  hastened  to  execute 
vengeance  upon  the  helpless  hero.     They  made  quick  work 
of  it.     But  they  were  not  aware  that  they  were  only  firing 
the   long-suffering  heart   of  the   anti-slavery  north    whose 
people  had  not  read  the  Bible  and  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  in 
vain.     The  smouldering  fires  were  soon  to  burst  out;  as  yet 
we  did  not  know  how  soon.      God's  time  had  not  come  yet. 
Our  winter  communion  in  this  year,   1859,  occurred  on  the 
last  Sabbath  of  December.     Brother  Armour  of  Craftsbury 
was  my  assistant.      For  nearly  a  week  prior  to  the  Sabbath 
I  was  a  great  sufferer  from  neuralgia  in  the  face,  and  had  to 
go   to  Bradford  to   submit  to  a  slight    surgical    operation. 
This  compelled  me  to  throw  the  burden  of  the  work  upon 
Mr.  Armour  which  he  bore  pleasantly  and  well.     However, 
on  Sabbath  I  was  helped  by  the  Spirit  and  preached    the 
"action    sermon"   1,  jm   the   text,   Ex.    28:2.      "And   thou 
shalt  make  for  Aaron  thy  brother  holy  garments  for  glory 
and  for  beauty." 

On  Tuesday  following  I  went  to  New  York  City  on  a 
special  errand  and  in  fulfilment  of  a  willing  promise  made  to 
a  special  friend  there.  I  did  not  consult  the  elders  nor  did  I 
notify  the  wives  or  their  daughters  of  my  intention  to  go  to 
the  metropolis.  All  any  one  knew  was  that  I  had  gone  to 
Bradford  Tuesday  morning.  When  I  returned  home  Friday 
evening  I  learned  that  there  had  been  no  little  curiosity 
among  some  who  belong  to  that  class  that  think  they  have  a 
right  always  to  know  the  plans  and  whereabouts  of  the 
pastor.  Madam  Curiosity  was  on  tiptoe,  but  no  one  cared 
to  ask  me  directly  where  I  had  been.  And  as  the  friends 
with  whom  I  boarded  (I  was  still  lodging  alone  in  the  par- 
16 


2^2  LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

sonage)  did  not  ask  any  questions,  I  found  it  somewhat  easj' 
to  let  them  be  ignorant.  But  I  did  not  escape  the  wit  of 
Judge  George,  ' '  mine  host, ' '  who,  remembering  how  ear- 
nestl)'  I  had  advocated  John  Brown's  cause,  insisted  before 
his  family  at  the  breakfast  table  that  I  must  have  been  away 
making  arrangements  to  bring  the  old  martyr's  widow  to 
occupy  the  parsonage.  I  uttered  no  denial  but  helped  him 
to  enjoy  the  joke. 

Perhaps  the  reader's  curiosity  is  excited.  I  can  satisfy  it 
only  in  part  yet  a  little.  While  in  Gotham  I  did  not  report 
myself  at  Mr.  Knox's  where  I  had  been  accustomed  to  lodge 
when  attending  Presbytery.  On  arrival  I  took  lodging  at  a 
quiet  hotel  but  spent  the  afternoons  and  evenings  with  my 
special  friend  who  did  not  board  in  a  Covenanter  family.  I 
confess  I  did  not  care  to  advertise  myself  to  the  brethren  and 
sisters  of  that  city  as  present  in  it.  It  was  winter  holidays 
and  intenseh'  cold  during  the  time  I  was  in  the  city ;  and  so 
I  got  out  of  it  on  Friday  morning  without  being  discovered 
by  m}'  Covenanter  friends. 

The  second  Sabbath  after  my  return  home  was  Brother 
Armour's  communion  at  which  I  had  promi.sed  to  give  him 
assistance.  Thus  I  was  awaj'  again  nearly  a  week.  But 
who  that  believes  it  is  not  good  for  a  man  to  be  alone  for 
years  in  a  country-  village  parsonage  could  blame  the  parson 
for  loving  to  be  with  Brother  Armour  during  another  of  his 
precious  communion  seasons?  During  the  four  days  I 
preached  a  sermon  ever>'  day  and  performed  nearly  all  the 
other  services.  But  even  if  in  no  "other  way,  I  was  amply 
repaid  by  having  the  privilege  of  hearing  Mr.  Armour's 
"action  sermon."  Like  all  I  ever  heard  him  give  on  sacra- 
mental occasions,  it  was  great  and  good. 

Friday  evening  after  returning  home  was  the  3d  or  4th 
John  Brown  anti-slaver}-  meeting.  The  resolutions  reported 
at  the  first  meet-ing  had  not  yet  been  voted  upon  and  so  were 


EVENTFUL    DAYS.  243 

discussed  again.  It  was  the  evening  of  Janiian'  13,  i860. 
Opening  my  journal  of  this  date  I  find  the  following  record  : 
"I  spoke  nearly  two  hours  to  a  large  audience,  a  majority  of 
whom  were  Democrats.  I  gave  them  a  heavy  fire  against 
pro-slavery  doctrines.  The  conflict  here  is  fiercer  than  ever 
before.  Some  would  hang  Abolitionists  if  they  dare  Our 
testimony  is  working  in  the  minds  of  not  a  few.  The  truth 
will  triumph  yet.  and  Christ  will  be  honored  and  the  slave 
freed."  Whether  the  resolutions  were  adopted  is  not 
recorded.  Probably  they  were  not  or  the  fact  would  have 
been  stated. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  winter  I  was  busy  at  ordinary 
pastoral  duties  and  at  family  visitation.  This  was  alwaj's 
attended  to  twice  a  year.  While  performing  this  dutj'  in  a 
family  whose  head,  a  son-in-law  of  one  of  the  elders,  had 
been  under  suspension  several  ^-ears  before  I  was  installed 
pastor,  but  whose  wife  was  in  regular  standing  and  whose 
children  attended  Sabbath-school,  the  following  incident 
occurred  and  showed  in  what  an  embittered  state  of  mind  he 
was,  for  he  so  hated  the  church  he  rarely  ever  attended  any 
of  the  services.  The  father-in-law  was  the  elder  with  me 
that  da}-,  and  that  elder  was  hated  by  the  head  of  the  family. 
The  record  in  m}-  journal  reads  thus:  "He  showed  great 
aversion  to  my  attending  to  m}-  dut\-.  After  some  talk  I 
asked  him  if  he  was  willing  for  me  to  pra}-  in  the  familj'. 
He  said,  not  if  I  prayed  as  I  did  the  last  time  I  was  there 
but  that  I  might  pray  if  I  did  not  pra}-  about  him,  'twitting 
and  slurring,'  I  think  were  the  words.  I  rose  and,  bidding 
farewell  with  Mrs.  Caldwell,  came  away.  I  mentalh-  shook 
the  dust  from  m\-  feet  as  a  testimony  against  him.  To  his 
God  and  judge  I  commit  him."  I  hope  few  pastors  if  any 
have  such  experiences. 

In  those  days  I  preached  occasionally  in  neighboring 
towns  or  villages  in  which  were  either  members  of  the  con- 


244  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

gregatioii  or  friends  of  Presbyterians.  In  the  village  of  West 
Topsham,  situated  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  town, 
was  a  good  woman  and  a  genuine  Covenanter  but  she  resided 
so  far  away  she  could  not  always  attend  preaching  at  the 
church  in  the  center  of  the  town.  She  had  been  trained  up 
in  a  Congregational  family  but  subsequently  embraced  our 
principles  and  ever  contended  for  them.  Her  husband  was 
a  lawyer  and  a  politician  but  always  kind  to  her  and  some- 
times brought  her  over  to  church.  In  West  Topsham  the  one 
house  of  worship  was  a  union  church  occupied  on  alternate 
Sabbaths  by  the  Methodists  and  Baptists.  A  few  of  both 
were  somewhat  anti-slavery,  but  the  ministers  had  to  be 
cautious  how  they  .spoke  or  prayed  in  reference  to  the  "Sum 
of  all  Villainies."  Mrs.  Dickey  wished  the  whole  of  the 
Gospel  to  be  heard  in  the  village  and  opened  the  way  for  her 
pastor  to  preach  one  Sabbath  in  the  union  church.  In 
the  forenoon  I  di.scoursed  from  Acts  17  :  i-g,  deducing  the 
truth  that  "Christians  are  agitators,"  meaning,  of  course, 
that  they  should  be,  and  I  showed  that  '  'it  always  has  been 
so, ' '  and  that  '  Sve  would  expect  it  to  be  so. ' '  In  the  after- 
noon the  sermon  was  from  that  great  text:  "God  forbid  that 
I  should  glory  .save  in  the  cross  of  our  L-ord  Jesus  Christ." 
In  one  of  the  pews  was  an  old  man  who  occasionally  shouted 
out,  ''Amen!'''  and  at  one  time  cried  aloud  and  wept  like  a 
child.  I  had  not  been  accustomed  to  such  Methodist-like 
demonstrations  at  home  and  was  ."^omewhat  disturbed  ;  but 
on  a  second  thought  the  inquiry  arose,  Are  such  emotional 
demonstrations  proper  ?  Should  they  be  permitted  without 
di.sapproval  ?  Mu.st  we  restrain  and  hide  from  others  our 
deeply  stirred  emotions  when  hearing  the  great  awakening 
truths  of  I  he  Gospel?  Or  must  the  preacher  be  cautious  and 
take  care  lest  he  arouse  the  deeper  emotions  of  his  hearers  ? 
What  is  a  .sleeping  congregation  worth?  or  a  dead  church  ? 
Mrs.  Dickey,  that  precious  woman,  is  yet  living  in  West 


EVENTFUL   DAYS.  :545 

Topsham  and  as  far  as  I  know  coutinues  faithful  to  Christ 
and  her  Covenanter  vows;  but  she  is  yet  the  only  Presby- 
terian there  except  a  few  baptized  members  who  have  not 
the  courage  of  their  own  convictions. 

If  the  reader  had  been  in  the  Topsham  church  on  Sab- 
bath, February  ii,  i860,  at  the  close  of  the  services  he 
would  have  heard  the  following  notice  read  by  the  precentor: 
viz.,  "There  is  a  purpose  of  marriage  between  N.  R.  John- 
ston and  Miss  Rosamond  Rogers,  of  New  York."  This 
"proclamation  of  bans"  as  read  in  the  Third  New  York 
Church,  Rev.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane  pastor,  was  modified  and 
read  thus:  "There  is  a  purpose  of  marriage  between  Rev. 
N.  R.  Johnston  of  Vermont  and  Miss  Rosamond  Rogers  of 
this  congregation." 

The  parson's  secret  was  out.  He  and  his  New  York 
friend  had  kept  their  own  matters  to  themselves  up  until 
the  public  proclamation.  "Madam  Curiosity"  now  under- 
stood better  where  the  pastor  had  been  during  the  holiday 
week,  but  was  not  .satisfied  in  her  ignorance  of  the  person 
named  in  the  notice  read  by  Precentor  McNiece.  It  was 
read  after  the  benediction  at  the  close  of  the  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian service.  While  it  was  being  read  the  victim  of  the 
old  law  was  standing  with  his  back  to  the  congregation  and 
was  engaged  in  putting  on  his  overcoat  or  stooping  down 
putting  on  his  overshoes.  Before  he  was  done  with  this 
unhurried  process  the  people  were  going  out  of  the  church 
to  the  relief  of  the  same  victim.  The  New  York  victim  of 
the  other  sex,  as  I  learned  afterwards,  escaped  from  the 
ordeal  by  sitting  that  Sabbath  afternoon  near  the  church 
door  and  making  her  hasty  exit  immediately  after  the  bene- 
diction. 

I  do  not  write  thus  lightly  about  these  proclamations  of 
bans  because  of  any  objection  to  the  law  and  custom.  In 
subsequent  years  Synod,  under  the  stress  of  long-continued 


^46  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAKD. 

opposition  to  it  and  because  so  many  declined  to  obey  it, 
repealed  the  law  in  its  old  form.  It  the  civil  law  had  been 
what  it  should  have  been  the  church  would  have  had  no 
trouble.  But  many  mistaken  (not  to  say  foolish)  people' 
take  the  civil  law  as  the  rule  of  action.  In  Vermont  the 
law  was  reasonable  and  proper.  It  required  public  procla- 
mation of  bans,  three  weeks  before  marriage,  or  public 
written  notices  on  the  door  of  the  church  or  on  the  door  of 
the  town  hall.  So  when  the  proclamation  was  made  in 
Topsham  it  was  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  the  state  as  well 
as  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church.  And  that  old  law 
should  never  have  been  repealed.  The  state  of  Vermont 
had  and  has  more  good  sense  in  this  matter  than  have  the 
churches  that  have  repealed  the  old  law  of  the  Westminster 
divines.  The  evils  that  grow  out  of  secret  or  hasty  or 
unpublished  marriages  are  legion.  The  whole  divorce  sys- 
tem in  the  states  of  this  Union  is  in  defiance  of  the  law  of 
Christ  and  it  smells  rank  with  pollution. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

The  Winter  Is  Past.    Joyous  Spring  Comes. 

As  foreshadowed  by  the  proclamation  of  bans,  the  mar- 
riage occurred  in  New  York  on  Thursday  P.  M.  March  i, 
i860.  The  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  Twenty -third 
Street  Reformed  Presbyteriam  Church  by  the  pastor,  Rev. 
J.  W.  R.  Sloane,  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  C.  K.  Milligan,  and  in 
the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  invited  friends.  Intend- 
ing to  spend  the  Sabbath  in  Boston,  as  soon  as  our  good- 
bys  were  said  we  took  the  first  New  Haven  and  Boston 
train  and  took  lodging  in  the  latter  city  at  the  old  Marlboro 
House,  the  "New  England  Ministers'  Home."  We  wor- 
shiped on  Sabbath  with  the  Covenanters  whose  preacher  was 
licentiate  William  Graham.  The  congregation  had  called 
him  and  he  had  accepted  the  call  but  had  not  been  ordained 
yet.  This  was  the  last  time  I  ever  worshiped  in  that  con- 
gregation until  after  the  death  of  the  pastor  about  thirty- 
three  years  later. 

On  Monday  when  the  Bradford  stage  landed  us  at  East 
Corinth  we  found  a  company  of  friends  who  had  come  to 
meet  us  and  escort  us  to  the  parsonage.  When  I  had  left 
home,  starting  for  New  York,  I  had  driven  my  horse  and 
sleigh  to  Corinth  and  left  them  there  to  be  ready  for  use  on 
my  return.  My  horse,  my  beautiful  Charlie  of  which  I  had 
always  been  proud,  now  dancing  in  his  bells  so  eager  to  get 
home,  led  the  company  and  brought  us  to  the  parsonage 
almost  "in  a  jiffy."  We  found  the  house  crowded  full  of 
friends  who  had  come  to  welcome  home  the  pastor  and  his 

(247) 


248  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

new  wife  and,  after  the  Yankee  fashion,  make  them  a  "dona- 
tion party."  Only  the  older  folks  were  present  that  even- 
ing. The  next  evening  the  young  people  came  in  like 
manner.  And  now  after  nearly  three  years  of  loneliness  and 
only  partial  occupancy  the  Topsham  parsonage  was  once 
more  the  home  of  joy  and  gladness. 

Rosamond  Rogers  was  born  in  Albany,  Vermont,  March 
2,  1832.  She  was  the  oldest  child  of  James  Rogers  and 
Nancy  (Chamberlain)  Rogers.  Her  father  was  the  second 
son  of  Jesse  Rogers  and  Sarah  (Wylie)  Rogers,  he  of  Puri- 
tan ancestry,  she  of  Scotch  Irish.  Grandmother  Rogers 
was  born  in  New  Hampshire,  of  Covenanter  parents,  and 
after  removal  to  Vermont  was  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  Craftsbury  congregation.  Some  of  her  children  were 
Covenanters  and  some  Congregationalists.  Rosamond's 
parents  were  the  latter,  but  she  herself  was  so  much  influ- 
enced by  her  grandmother's  teachings  and  example  that  she 
followed  in  her  footsteps. 

From  girlhood  Rosamond  Rogers  was  a  devotee  to  temper- 
ance principles  and  an  intelligent  foe  of  slavery.  Early  in 
the  history  of  the  an ti -slavery  agitation  she  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  some  of  the  ablest  and  most  earnest  lec- 
turers, such  as  Henry  Highland  Garrett  and  the  Clark 
brothers.  Under  the  culture  of  her  Covenanter  grand- 
mother and  her  anti-slavery  parents  and  their  pastor  who 
was  a  most  zealous  Abolitionist,  and  by  the  reading  of  such 
anti-slavery  books  as  "The  Thousand  Witnesses"  by  Theo- 
dore Weld  and  the  Grimkes,  she  had  become  a  hater  of 
oppression  and  an  Abolitionist  before  she  read  "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin." 

Her  father  was  a  Verm.ont  farmer,  and  she  grew  up  in  a 
home  in  which  she  had  the  advantages  of  New  England 
farm  life  and  of  a  Vermont  education.  Before  completing 
the  course  of  study  in  the  Craftsbury  Academy  she  visited 


JOYOUS    SPRING    COMES.  ^49 

her  uncles  in  New  York  City  by  whom  she  was  persuaded, 
after  obtaining  her  parents'  consent,  to  remain  and  become 
a  teacher.  Subsequently  she  entered  the  New  York  City 
Normal  School,  now  New  York  City  College,  in  which  she 
graduated.  She  continued  to  teach  until  the  time  of  her 
marriage.  Her  profession  of  faith  was  made  in  connection 
with  the  Third  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York, 
Rev  J.  R.  W.  Sloane  pastor.  This  had  occurred  some  years 
before  we  first  met  and  formed  acquaintance,  and  she  con- 
tinued a  member  of  the  third  congregation  until  her  removal 
to  Topsham. 

It  was  easy  for  the  young  wife  to  adapt  herself  to  her  new 
life  and  to  her  new  responsibilities  in  the  parsonage  and 
in  the  congregation.  Having  superior  qualifications  as  a 
teacher  and  as  instructor  in  music,  the  Sabbath-school 
received  a  new  impetus. 

Shortly  before  leaving  New  York  she  had  heard  her 
pastor  preach  his  great  John  Brown  sermon;  and  coming  to 
Topsham  before  the  agitation  at  the  time  of  the  John  Brown 
meetings  had  subsided,  she  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
Topsham  Covenanters  in  their  war  against  oppression. 

As  the  months  passed  and  when  the  Vermont  forests, 
always  beautiful,  had  put  on  their  richest  foliage,  we  were 
favored  with  a  visit  from  the  eloquent  colored  lecturer, 
William  Wells  Brown.  In  arranging  his  anti-slavery  meet- 
ings I  planned  them  so  that  we  could  be  with  him  while  on 
our  way  to  Fayston  where  I  had  a  Presbyterial  appointment 
to  preach.  Beginning  with  Monday,  and  driving  our  own 
Charlie  from  town  to  town,  we  had  full  houses  every  after- 
noon. At  most  of  the  meetings  Wells  Brown  was  the  prin- 
cipal speaker;  but  in  all  of  them  we  supplied  the  song  music. 
Before  leaving  home  we  had  drilled  ourselves  in  the  use  of 
George  W.  Clark's  grand  old  "Liberty  Minstrel,"  full  of 
the  soul  of  freedom  and  of  appeals  for  the  bondman.     We 


250  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

were  not  rivals  to  the  Hutcbinsons  but  our  anti-slavery 
song's  seemed  to  help  greatly  to  produce  a  deeper  hatred  of 
the  auction  block,  the  slaves'  dark  prison-house  and  the 
overseer's  lash.  Those  who  live  now  a  generation  after  the 
emancipation  of  the  millions  can  hardly  know  what  pity  for 
the  bondman  and  what  hatred  of  oppression  were  intensified 
by  the  anti-slavery  songs  of  that  time  whether  as  sung  by 
theClarks,  the  Hutchinsons,  or  fugitive  slaves  who  repeated 
their  sad  plantation  melodies.  And  those  who  never  heard 
the  Hutchinsons  sing  their  anti-slavery  songs  in  the  dark 
days  of  slavery — ^the  Hutchinsons  when  all  the  brothers  and 
sisters  were  in  their  prime — were  deprived  of  a  very  rare 
privilege.  No  such  sweet  and  yet  soul-stirring  song  music 
ever  had  an  equal  until  after  emancipation  when  the  Fisk 
jubilee  singers  gave  to  the  north  their  plantation  songs. 
The  Hutchinsons  often  sang  at  the  anti-slavery  anniversaries. 
I  heard  them  for  the  first  time  in  New  York  when,  among 
others,  three  of  the  greatest  Abolitionists  and  platform  speak- 
ers, Theo.  Parker,  Charles  Sumner,  and  Wendell  Phillips, 
gave  addresses  in  the  old  Metropolitan  Temple.  Their  song 
pleas  for  the  slave  were  eloquently  persuasive;  and  much  of 
the  success  of  the  great  evangelist  Moody  is  due  to  the 
singing  of  Ira  D.  Sankey.  Well  did  Martin  Luther  say: 
"Whoever  despises  music,  I  am  displeased  with  him." 

The  songs  we  sang  most  were  of  the  plaintive  kind  such 
as  Whittier's 

"Gone,  gone — sold  and  gone, 
To  the  rice  swamp  dank  and  lone, 
Where  the  slave- whip  ceaseless  swings,"  etc., 
or 

"From  Virginia's  hills  and  waters, 
Woe  is  me,  my  sons  and  daughters;" 

or  Elizur  Wright's  touching  plea,  "The  Fugitive  Slave  to 
the  Christian,"  with  its  chorus: 


JOYOUS   SPRING   COMES.  25 1 

"Tlie  houncls  are  baying  on  my  track, 
O  Christian,  will  you  send  nie  back?" 

or  Lewis'  "  Wake  Ye  Numbers"  with  its  chorus: 

"Afric's  bleeding  sons  and  daughters, 
Now  before  us,  loud  implore  us. 

Looking  to  Jehovah's  throne. 
Chains  are  wearing,  hearts  despairing; 

Will  you  hear  a  nation's  moan?" 

After  our  meeting  at  West  Randolph  where  Wells  Brown 
did  grand  service  against  oppression,  he  was  called  to 
other  towns  anxious  to  hear  him  and  we  had  to  part  from 
him  to  fulfil  the  appointments  at  West  Brookfield  and  at 
Waitsfield.  At  the  former  the  arrangements  for  the  meet- 
ing had  been  made  by  Rev.  Jehial  Claflin,  the  pastor  of  the 
Freewill  Baptist  Church.  He  was  a  zealous  Garrisonian 
Abolitionist  and  in  full  sympathy  with  my  most  ra  li 
lecture  in  which  I  promulgated  the  duty  of  separation  from 
the  pro-slavery  government  under  a  slaveholding  Constitu- 
tion. The  church  was  crowded  full  of  people  whose  senti- 
ments I  did  not  know,  though  I  presume  that  many  of  them 
were  anti-slavery  as  were  nearly  all  Freewill  Baptists  in  New 
England.  In  one  case  I  had  no  doubt.  An  old  man,  per- 
haps one  of  the  deacons,  who  sat  in  a  front  pew  could  not 
be  quiet,  but  as  he  warmed  up,  every  now  and  then  he 
shouted  out:  "Truth!"  or  "  That's  the  truth  !  "  "Truth! 
Amen!"  That  the  speaker  was  emboldened  by  such  demon- 
strations I  may  not  deny.     He  was  only  a  mortal. 

Our  anti-slavery  songs  and  the  singing  of  the  "better 
half"  must  have  been  pleasing  to  Pastor  Claflin  in  whose 
beautiful  home  we  were  entertained,  for  when  we  were  all 
about  to  begin  family  worship,  no  book  being  present  except 
the  Bible,  he  said  to  us:  "Will  you  and  Mrs.  Johnston  please 
sing  Northfield?"  My  thoughtful  helper  relieved  me  of  the 
embarrassment  of  having  to  inform  my  Baptist  brother  that 


^52      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

we  were  old  psalm-singers,  for  she  promptly  replied:  "Mr. 
Ciaflin,  please  excuse  us,  we  are  tired."  At  morning 
prayers  nothing  was  said  about  singing. 

Our  last  meeting  was  at  Waitsfield,  near  Fayston.  That 
was  the  town  in  which,  a  year  or  so  before,  I  had  had  the 
discussion  with  the  Congregational  pastor  on  the  character 
of  the  United  States  Constitution  and  when  the  Covenanters 
present  thought  a  great  victory  for  the  truth  had  been  won. 
The  large  church  was  crowded  full;  and  though  I  gave  them 
only  a  half-hour's  speech  the  interest  seemed  to  increase  to 
the  end.  The  reasons  were  not  accidental.  We  gave  them 
our  best  songs,  and  one  or  two  of  them  were  called  for  again. 
That  community  had  been  well  leavened  with  anti-slavery 
truths,  for  Rev.  Mr.  Prindle  was  an  outspoken  Abolitionist 
of  the  Gerrit  Smith  class;  and  Vermont,  like  the  whole 
north,  was  in  that  state  of  ebullition  which  followed  the 
hanging  of  John  Brown  and  the  nomination  of  Abraham 
L/incoln  for  President. 

Rarely  ever  in  the  history  of  the  c^luntry  was  there  such 
agitation  in  both  church  and  state  on  all  subjects  interwoven 
with  the  great  question  of  slavery  as  there  was  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  i860.  The  organization  of  the 
Republican  party  and  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  were 
on  the  issue  of  the  non-extension  of  slave  territory-.  That 
party  agreed  to  carry  out  the  pro-slavery  provisions  of  the 
Constitution,  including  the  return  of  fugitive  slaves  as  pro- 
vided for  by  the  fugitive  slave  law  which  had  been  enacted 
to  appease  the  south  and  assure  them  that  the  Constitution 
would  be  kept  in  good  faith.  When  the  Republican  party 
succeeded  and  President  L,incoln  was  inaugurated,  the  south 
saw  that  it  was  the  determination  of  the  north  and  the  new 
party  now  in  power  to  prevent  the  extension  of  slave  terri- 
tory or  the  admission  of  new  slave  states.  The  south 
determined  not  to  submit  to  that  decision.     These  northern 


JOYOUvS    SPRING    COMES.  253 

men  with  southern  principles  became  more  apologetic  for 
slavery.  E\'en  members  of  churches  that  tolerated  slavery 
or  that  had  members  in  the  southern  states  who  held  slaves, 
apologized  for  slavery  or  argued  that  it  was  not  in  itself 
wrong  but  that  the  sin  was  in  the  circumstances,  e.  g.,  in 
separating  families  or  in  cruelty  to  the  slaves.  Of  such  kind 
were  some  professors  in  Topsham.  And  then  some  of  the 
go^d  Methodist  brothers  and  sisters  took  umbrage  at  the 
"Presbyterian  minister  "  because  he  had  said  that  tlie  Meth- 
odist Church  was  pro-slavery.  At  that  time  there  was  no 
Methodist  Church  North  or  South,  All  were  in  one  church. 
The  conference  had  decreed  that  ministers  must  be  non- 
slaveholders;  but  laymen  and  women  continued  to  buy  and 
sell  slaves  as  they  chose  and  went  un whipped  of  justice. 
Such  subjects  were  agitating  the  community  so  much  at  this 
time  that  I  was  urgently  requested  to  preach  on  the  institu- 
tion of  American  slavery  and  show  everybody  exactly  what 
the  Bible  teaches  about  the  "patriarchal  institution"  or 
"the  sum  of  all  villainies."  I  responded  by  giving  a  series 
of  discourses,  four  in  number,  in  four  or  five  successive  Sab- 
baths.' I  suppose  they  did  not  diminish  the  excitement  and 
perhaps  did  not  change  the  mind  of  "northern  men  with 
southern  principles."  I  hoped,  however,  that  at  least  Cov- 
enanters and  other  Abolitionists  would  be  better  able  to 
defend  the  Bible  against  every  as.sertion  that  it  gives  sanction 
to  slaveholding. 

After  the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Topsham  Cov- 
enanters found  it  difficult  to  avoid  the  censure  of  anti-slavery 
Christians.  These  thought  that  now  when  the  Repubhcan 
party  had  been  organized  on  what  some  called  an  anti-slavery 
platform — anti-slavery  not  because  it  proposed  to  do  any- 
thing to  destroy  slavery  but  only  to  confine  it  to  its  present 
limits — Covenanters  should  vote  for  Mr.  Lincoln.  Many 
anti-slavery  Republicans,  however,  really  thought  that  this 


254  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

party  was  a  real  anti-slavery  party.  In  the  campaign  in 
Vermont  they  employed  Lucy  Stone  to  speak  at  political 
meetings.  One  of  these  was  appointed  at  East  Corinth  four 
miles  below  Topsham.  I  went  to  hear  her  because  it  was 
Lucy  Stone.  Because  of  sickness  she  was  not  there.  Nor 
was  any  Republican  speaker  present.  On  motion  of  a  friend, 
though  a  politician,  I  was  invited  to  take  her  place  and  speak. 
I  could  hardly  resist  the  temptation,  but  on  a  moment's 
reflection  I  had  to  decline.  I  could  not  advocate  the  Repub- 
lican cause  or  platform  or  the  election  of  Lincoln,  and  to 
make  a  speech  in  advocacy  of  my  own  real  sentiments  would 
be  in  such  bad  taste  or  so  discourteous  I  would  give  only 
displeasure;  and,  more,  I  would  appear  before  the  public  as 
acting  with  the  Republican  party.  I  respectfully  asked  to 
be  excused  partly  because  I  could  not  speak  without  some 
forethought.  For  this  act  I  was  severely  censured  by  many 
who  said  if  I  had  wished  to  speak  I  could.  But  I  could  not 
on  a  compromise  platform.  I  could  not  speak  at  a  meeting 
called  to  favor  the  election  of  even  Abraham  Lincoln  who 
was  pledged,  by  his  official  oath  to  enforce  the  Constitution 
and  the  fugitive  slave  law.  Rather  would  I  endure  the 
obloquy  of  a  "  comeouter  "  or  a  dissenter. 

Those  who  have  read  Mrs.  Swisshelm's  "Half  Century" 
will  be  remin:led  of  the  defense  she  makes  of  herself  when 
she,  during  this  same  campaign,  was  a  platform  advocate  of 
the  Republican  party.  How  lame  and  how  unfair  a  great 
woman  may  become  when  she  engages  in  a  bad  or  even 
doubtful  career !  Mrs.  Swisshelm  was  a  new-school  Cov- 
enanter. At  this  time  she  was  editing  a  Republican  paper  in 
Minnesota  and  was  on  a  political  platform,  good  as  far  as  it 
extended  but  bad  because  it  demanded  no  more  than  this: 
"  No  extension  of  slave  territory."  Here  is  a  part  of  her 
defense:  "Yet  even  then,  the  opposition  of  the  Garrisonians 
was  most  persistent.     There  was  a  large  anti-.slavery  element 


JOYOUS  SPRING  COMES.  255 

among  the  original  settlers  of  Minnesota,  but  it  was  mostly 
of  the  Garrisonian  or  non-voting  type,  and  had  laid  dormant 
under  pro-slavery  rule.  To  utilize  thi.s  element  at  the  polls 
was  my  special  desire.  The  ground  occupied  by  thern  was 
the  one  I  had  abandoned,  i.  e.,  the  ground  made  by  the 
Covenanters  when  the  Constitution  first  appeared.  They 
pronounced  it  "a  covenant  with  death  and  an  agreement 
with  hell,"  and  would  not  vote  or  hold  office  under  it; 
would  not  take  an  oath  to  support  it.  So  firmly  had  Gar- 
rison planted  himself  on  the  old  Covenanter  platform,  that 
it  is  doubtful  whether  he  labored  harder  for  the  overthrow  of 
slavery  or  political  anti-slavery;  whether  he  more  fiercely 
denounced  slaveholders  or  men  who  voted  against  slave- 
holding.  Once  after  a  "flaming"  denunciation  of  political 
Abolitionists,  someone  said  to  him: 

"  Mr.  Garrison,  I  am  surprised  at  the  ground  you  take  ! 
Do  you  not  think  James  G.  Birney  and  Gerrit  vSmith  are 
anti-slavery  ?" 

He  hesitated,  and  replied: 

"  They  have  anti-slavery  tendencies,  I  admit." 

"Now,  James  G.  Birney,  when  a  young  man,  fell  heir 
to  the  third  of  an  Alabama  estate,  and  arranged  with  the 
other  heirs  to  take  the  slaves  as  his  portion.  He  took  them 
all  into  a  free  state,  emancipated  them,  and  left  himself 
without  a  dollar,  but  went  to  work  and  became  the  leader 
of  political  Abolitionists  w^hile  Gerrit  Smith  devoted  his 
splendid  talents  and  immense  wealth  to  the  cause  of  the 
slave.  When  their  mode  of  action  was  so  reprehensible  to 
Mr.  Garrison,  we  mav  judge  the  strength  of  his  opposition 
to  that  plan  of  action  which  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of 
slavery.  His  non-resistance  covered  ballots  as  well  as 
bullets,  and  slavery,  the  creation  of  brute  force  and  ballots, 
must  not  be  attacked  by  any  weapon,  save  moral  suasion. 
So  it  was,  that  Garrisonianism,  off  the  line  of  the  under- 
ground railroad,  was  a  harmless  foe  to  slavery,  and  was 
often  used  by  it  to  prevent  the  casting  of  votes  which  would 
endanger  its  power. 


256  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

"From  the  action  of  the  slave  power,  it  must  bj^  that  time 
have  been  apparent  to  all,  that  adverse  votes  was  what  it 
most  dreaded;. but  old-side  Covenanters,  Quakers,  and  Garri- 
sonians  could  not  cast  the.-e  without  soiling  their  hands  by 
touching  that  bad  Constitution.  But  that  moral  dilettante- 
ism,  which  thinks  first  of  its  own  hands,  was  not  confined  to 
non-voting  Abolitionists;  for  the  'thorough  goers'  of  the 
old  Libert}-  party  could  not  come  down  from  their  perch  on 
platforms  which  embraced  all  the  moralities,  to  w^ork  on  one 
which  only  said  to  slaver)',  'Not  another  foot  of  territory.' 

"Both  these  parties  attacked  me.  The  one  argued  that  I, 
of  necessity,  endorsed  slavery  everywhere  by  recognizing  the 
Constitution;  the  other  that  I  must  favor  its  existence  where 
it  then  was,  by  working  with  the  Republican  party,  which 
was  only  pledged  to  prevent  its  extension.  To  me,  these 
positions  seemed  utterly  untenable,  their  arguments  pre- 
posterous, and  I  did  my  best  to  make  this  appear.  I  claimed 
the  Constitution  as  anti-slavery,  and  taught  the  duty  of 
overthrowing  slavery  by  and  through  it." 

But  Mrs.  Swisshelm  knew  that  her  claim  was  wholly  un- 
tenable. Hers  was  a  vain  subterfuge.  If  that  talented 
woman  and  brilliant  writer  had  said  all  this  during  the 
whirl  of  the  political  campaign  instead  of  twenty  3-ears  after- 
wards and  subsequent  to  the  amendment  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, charit}'  might  say  that  she  really  believed  what  she 
said  about  that  fundamental  law.  But  to  even  her  admirers 
and  friends  it  must  be  incredible.  And  probablj'  not  one 
intelligent  statesman  of  any  party,  much  less  au}^  judge  of 
any  court  in  the  land,  now  holds  to  that  exploded  theor}'. 
If  it  had  any  merit  whatever  it  was  that  it  seemed  to  furnish 
an  opiate  to  the  consciences  of  some  excellent  Abolitionists 
who  thought  thev  must  vote  if  not  be  in  office  also. 


Wendell  Phillips 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Wendell  Phillips.     Anniversaries. 

M\  first  personal  acquaintance  with  Wendell  Phillips  was 
only  casual.     I  had  heard  him  speak  at  several  anniversaries 
and  had  had  some  correspondence  with  him  by  letter  before 
we  had  any  personal  interview.     I  knew  his  personal  worth 
and  his  irreproachable   life,   his    orthodox  Christian  belief, 
his  sacrifices  made  for  the  slave,  and  his  wonderful  power  as 
a  public  speaker;  I  had  a  most  profound  admiration  of  him 
as  the  greatest  and  the  best  of  the  whole  host  of  Abolitionists 
outside  of  the  Covenanter  Church,  and  I  had  long  desired  to 
be  personally  acquainted  with  him,  but  I  had  had  no  oppor- 
tunity.    I  was  not  a  stranger  to  him,  however.     He  knew 
something  of  what   I  bad  tried  to  do  for  the  anti-slavery 
cause  in  Vermont,  if  not  before,  and  he  may  have  read  some 
of  the  numerous  articles  that  appeared  from  time  to  time  in 
the  National  Anti-Slavery  Standard  and  in  the  Liberator;  so 
when  we  did  meet  it  was  not  as  strangers.     He  knew  me  as 
an  old  Covenanter  and  in  full  sympathy  with  him  and  the 
Garrisonian   Abolitionists.       We    needed    no    introduction. 
When  in  his  company  I  knew  I  was  in  the  presence  of  a 
fine   scholar,  a  polished  gentleman,  and    an  acknowledged 
leader  who  in  all  the  ranks  of  the  anti-slavery  hosts  as  a 
classical    orator  and  advocate  of  the  right  and  in  scathing 
denunciation  of  the  wrong,  had  no  peer.     The  anti-slavery 
people   of  both    divisions   admired   and    honored  him;    the 
Garrisonians   loved   him  and  were  proud  of  him.     Yet  he 
never  seemed  to  know  it.     Even  when  receiving  the  greatest 

17  (257) 


258  I.OOKING   BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

outbursts  of  applause  from  the  listening  thousands  no  one 
could  detect  in  him  then  or  at  any  time  the  least  evidence  of 
vanity.  One  would  think  he  was  wholly  unconscious  of  the 
applause. 

The  secret  or  the  hidden  sources  of  Wendell  Phillips' 
eloquence  are  indefinable.  His  was  unique.  He  had  copied 
after  no  master.  It  would  have  been  folly  for  any  one  to 
try  to  imitate  his  oratory.  Many  on  hearing  him  the  first 
time  were  disappointed,  his  was  so  unlike  what  most  people 
call  eloquence.  He  used  very  few  gestures;  and  except  when 
at  rare  times  he  was  greatly  aroused,  his  body  was  almost 
motionless.  He  rarely  ever  became  "impassioned,"  and 
never  declamatory.  To  appreciate  the  superior  eloquence  of 
him  whom  they  called  the  "Silver  Tongued"  the  intelligent 
listener  needed  only  to  give  attention  to  his  sentiments,  for 
he  was  the  friend  of  the  poor  against  the  rich,  and  of  the 
oppressed  against  the  oppressor;  or  to  the  chaste  and  classical 
•style  in  which  he  advocated  the  right  against  the  wrong 
whether  in  the  church  or  in  the  state.  And  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  it  was  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  human  rights 
and  his  hatred  of  American  slavery  that  made  Wendell 
Phillips  what  he  was  as  an  orator.  On  other  or  ordinary 
platforms  he  may  have  had  some  peers;  on  the  anti-slavery, 
he  had  none.  Those  who  never  heard  him  as  an  Aboli- 
tionist and  in  the  dark  days  of  the  reign  of  the  oppressor, 
never  could  know  his  greatness  as  an  orator.  And  if  they 
wish  to  see,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  see  in  type,  a  specimen 
of  his  unique  mode  of  giving  expression  to  imperishable 
truths,  let  them  read  the  eulogium  of  John  Brown  pro- 
nounced at  the  burial  at  North  Elba  fcy  the  ' '  heaven-inspired 
soul  of  Wendell  Phillips.'"-'-  His  style  of  thought  was 
original.  The  great  truths  to  which  he  gave  utterance  were 
clothed  in  the  purest  and   finest    rhetoric.     His   logic  was 

*Redpath's  "Life  of  John  Brown." 


WENDELL   PHILLIPS.      ANNIVERSARIES.  259 

without  fault.  Anything  light  or  trivial  or  undignified  never 
fell  from  his  lips.  To  low  invective  he  was  a  stranger;  yet 
of  deserved  and  withering  .sarcasm  he  was  master.  Cunning 
politicians  feared  him,  and  not  a  few  of  those  who  aspired  to 
honors  won  at  the  sacrifice  of  right  fell  before  his  Dama.scus 
blade.  Daniel  Webster  might  have  been  President  after  his 
gigantic  efforts  to  persuade  the  north  to  con.sentto  the  enact- 
ment of  the  fugitive  slave  law  if  Wendell  Phillips  had  not 
stood  in  the  way.  When  in  the  nation's  capitol  right  and 
wrong  were  being  weighed  in  the  scales — when  millions 
were  wanting  to  see  whether  Congress  would  so  far  forget 
God  and  the  slave  as  to  grant  to  the  southern  slaveholders 
that  their  demand  that  national  law  should  give  them  the 
right  to  hunt  and  drag  back  to  bondage  the  fleeing  slave 
whenever  he  might  be  caught — when  at  that  crucial  hour 
Webster  proved  treacherous  to  justice  and  false  to  the  slave 
and  by  his  great  influence  and  b}'  the  greatest  effort  of  his 
life  he  helped  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  infamous  "black 
bill  of  1850,"  not  New  England  only  but  the  best  people  of 
the  north  were  aroused  by  the  voice  of  Wendell  Phillips  to 
indignation  at  Webster's  treachery  to  humanity  as  well  as  to 
the  right;  and  Massachusetts'  proud  aspirant  to  the  presi- 
dency lost  his  honor  and  lost  the  nomination.  Not  long 
afterwards  he  pas.sed  away  from  earth  wept  by  those  who 
had  ever  cast  their  crowns  at  his  feet  but  who  were  now  sad 
in  heart  that  such  gigantic  powers  had  been  prostituted  to 
win  the  favor  of  slaveholders  and  to  save  the  Union. 
•  To  not  lose  sight  of  the  chronology  I  am  trying  to  follow, 
in  this  connection  I  may  mention  some  incidents  connected 
with  .several  anti-slavery^  anniversaries.  Those  of  the  Na- 
tional Society  were  always  in  New  York  City.  Rev.  Dr. 
Andrew  Stevenson,  pastor  of  the  Second  Reformed  Presby- 
terian Church,  being  a  warm  Abolitionist,  was  nearly  always 
pre.sent,  and  to  show  on  which   side  of  the  great  question 


26o  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THU   SUNSET    LAND. 

then  before  the  nation  he  was,  he  sat  on  the  platform,  Mr. 
Garrison,  the  president,  in  the  chair.  I  think  it  was  in  that 
year  which  followed  the  great  financial  panic  of  1858  and 
when  a  remarkable  religions  awakening  or  revival  swept 
over  the  whole  country.  Among  the  Garrisonians  were 
always  some  who  were  far  from  orthodox  in  their  religious 
faith — some  Hixite  Quakers,  some  unbelievers  if  not  "infi- 
dels" who  were  glad  to  use  the  pro-slavery  character  of  the 
churches  as  an  argument  against  them  as  "dens  of  thieves," 
as  denominated  by  Henry  C  Wright  in  his  book  against 
slaveholding  churches. 

As  Mr.  Garrison  in  his  Liberator  always  advocated  both 
free  speech  and  a  free  press,  always  giving  a  column  of 
his  paper  to  pro-slaver}-  writers  or  copied  articles,  as  the 
presiding  officer  he  gave,  as  some  thought,  I  among  others, 
too  much  freedom  of  speech  in  the  discussions  during  the 
anniversaries.  At  this  meeting  several  argued  that  the 
revival  that  had  been  active  during  the  winter  previous 
must  be  spurious,  or  that  the  religion  of  many  of  the  revived 
must  be  worthless  because  it  was  followed  in  no  case  by  the 
emancipation  of  slaves.  The  argument  was:  "By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

During  the  discussion  sentiments  were  expressed  that 
many  present  disapproved  or  thought  should  not  have  been 
tolerated.  One  of  the  speakers  was  a  woman,  a  prominent 
Jewess'^  of  New  York  City,  and  an  eloquent  advocate  of 
human  rights,  but  who  probably  hated  Christianity  as  much 
as  slavery.  In  the  discussion  she  took  the  opportunity  to 
make  a  "fling"  at  the  Bible.  When  she  had  closed  her 
speech,  Wendell  Phillips,  who  was  sitting  in  the  avidieiice, 
was  called  to  the  platform.  He  began  his  speech  in  these 
words:  "  Yoii  can't  whistle  doivn  the  Bible!'''  He  spoke  a  few 
sentences  in  the  same  strain  and  disapproved  of  what  had 
been  said  by  the  Jewess,  but  the  applause  that  followed  that 

*  Ernestine  L.  Rose, 


WENDELL   PHILLIPS.       ANNIVERSARIES.  26 1 

first  sentence  and  my  own  mental  excitement  at  the  time 
prevented  memory  from  doing  its  work. 

Before  I    bad    left   home    to    attend  Presbytery  and    the 
anniversary  I  had  correspondence  with  Rev.  J.  M.  Willson 
of  Philadelphia  urging  him  to  be  at  the  latter,  for  I  was 
anxious   that    Covenanters    might   be   associated   with    the 
Abolitionists  not  only  to  be  co-workers  in  the  cause  of  the 
slave  but  that  they  might  counteract  whatever  infidel   influ- 
ences  were   chargeable    against   any    of  the    Garrisonians. 
Mr.  Willson  was  present  the  first  day  and  heard  the  unhappy 
discussions  mentioned   above.       I    thought   he   was   disap- 
pointed if  not  also  displeased;  at  all  events  he  did  not  remain 
the  next  day.     Dr,  Stevenson,  however,  was  back  again  and 
in  his  place  on  the  platform.     Not  far  from  him'  Lucy  Stone 
took    her   seat.     She  was  to  be  one  of  the    speakers    that 
session.     I    knew  his  antipathy  to  "women  speakers."     I 
doubted  whether  he  would  have  gone  upon  the  platform  if 
he  had  known  that  a  woman  would  be  there.     After  a  while 
she  was  announced  and  as  she  proceeded  in  her  plea  for  the 
slave  and  especially  for  the  slave  mother,   I  looked  at  Dr. 
Stevenson  to  see  how  he  enjoyed  the  address.     He  was  sit- 
ting somewhat  bent  forward,  with  both  hands  resting  upon 
his  cane,  and  the  great  big  tears  were  streaming  down  his 
face  and  falling  upon  the  floor.     His  heart  was  so  moved  by 
the  warm  eloquence  of  Lucy  Stone  he   forgot  she  was   a 
woman.     He  was  such  a  true  friend  to  the  slave  I  would  be 
glad  to  know  that  afterwards  he  endorsed  the  sentiment  long 
before  expressed  by  his  father-in-law,  old  Dr.  Willson,  that 
"when  men,  who  can  and  who  should  speak  for  the  slave, 
will  not,  then  let  woman  speak;  and  I  say,  God  bless  her!" 
It  was  probably  the  autumn  following  that  I  was  invited 
to  attend  the  annual  meeting  of  the   New   England  Anti- 
slavery  Society  in  Boston  and  to  allow  my  name  to  be  on 
the  program  as  one  of  the  speakers.     I  assented  though  with 


262  LOOKING   BACK   FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

much  hesitation  for  I  knew  well  that  it  was  not  meet  that  I 
should  be  associated  as  a  speaker  on  the  platform  with  the 
old  and  eloquent  "Apostles  of  Liberty."  But  I  knew  that 
Mr.  Garrison,  Mr.  May,  and  other  prudent  leaders  were 
anxious  to  have  the  cooperation  of  Christian  ministers, 
especially  Covenanters  who,  as  they  knew,  held  sentiments 
as  to  the  character  of  the  United  States  Constitution  and 
Government  similar  to  their  own.  And  I  confess  that  I  was 
desirous  of  having  an  opportunity  in  Boston  to  let  it  be 
known  that  there  was  an  orthodox  church  in  the  United 
States  that  had  no  union  with  slaveholders — a  church  that 
had  been  dissenting  or  "comeouter"  before  Mr.  Garrison 
came  out  of  the  old  slaveholding  Baptist  Church.  It  had 
been  arranged  that  at  one  of  the  sessions  of  the  convention  I 
should  be  the  second  speaker  and  be  followed  by  Mr.  Phillips. 
The  hall  was  crowded.  One  side  of  the  gallery  was  nearly 
filled  with  Harvard  students  who  had  come  to  hear  Wendell 
Phillips  and  presumably  had  no  other  object.  Probably  they 
knew  nothing  of  the  program  except  that  Mr.  Phillips  was 
to  speak  at  that  session;  and  he  was  sitting  on  the  platform. 
I  do  not  remember  what  the  president  said  when  introducing 
me;  but  I  was  a  stranger  to  the  audience,  and  I  had  spoken 
only  a  few  introductory  sentences  when  the  Harvard  boys 
began  to  show  vigorous  signs  of  uneasiness,  stamping  slightl)^ 
at  first,  then  louder  and  more  frequently.  I  had  no  difficulty 
in  taking  in  the  situation.  I  saw  at  once  that  they  wanted 
to  hear  Wendell  Phillips.  I  knew^  that  I  could  not  gain 
their  attention;  and  determining  that  I  would  not  attempt  it, 
in  the  middle  of  their  noise  I  bowed  to  them,  then  turned  to 
the  chair  and  said,  "Please  excuse  me,  I  can  not  speak 
here." 

The  president,  knowing  the  students  wanted  to  hear  Mr. 
Phillips  but  determining  not  to  let  them  control  the  meeting 
if  he  could  prevent  it,    immediately  introduced  Aaron  M. 


WENDELL  PHILLIPS.      ANNIVERSARIES.  263 

Powell,  a  well-known  and  able  speaker,  who  immediately 
plunged  right  into  his  theme  as  if  saying,  /  will  be  heard. 
The  boys  had  failed  to  get  what  they  wanted;  they  saw  they 
had  a  better  speaker  and  one  who  had  faced  such  audiences 
before.  Mr.  Powell  spoke  briefly,  and  Mr.  Phillips  was 
introduced.  Not  a  student  left  until  that  address  was 
finished.  I  had  learned  a  lesson.  If  I  had  had  pride  it  was 
rebuked.  If  I  had  had  courage,  it  all  oozed  out  at  my  finger 
ends.  All  the  Boston  Abolitionists  could  never  have  per- 
suaded me  to  dream  of  speaking  when  Wendell  Phillips  was 
on  the  platform;  and  j^et  I  suppose  I  had  the  sympathy  of 
my  friends  present. 

I  remember  of  being  at  some  public  meeting,  probably  an 
anniversary  about  this  time,  when  Mr.  Phillips  was  one  of 
the  speakers.  While  the  one  who  preceded  him  was  speak- 
ing I  was  sitting  on  the  platform  beside  Mr.  Phillips.  I 
could  see  by  his  movements  that  he  was  agitated.  Prior  to 
this  time  I  had  always  supposed  that  he  had  full  self-poses- 
sion  when  speaking  and  even  before  it.  I  noticed  that  as 
the  time  of  the  speaker  had  nearly  expired  Mr.  Phillips  was 
slightly  nervous.  He  was  sitting  where  few  in  the  audience 
could  see  him.  He  hurriedly  took  from  his  pocket  a  small 
piece  of  blank  paper,  quickly  wrote  probably  a  half  dozen 
words  upon  it,  looked  a  few  moments  at  them,  and  then 
crushing  up  the  paper  in  his  hand  put  it  into  his  pocket. 
In  a  few  minutes  he  was  addressing  the  audience.  He 
seemed  perfectly  calm.  No  one  could  have  known  that  ten 
minutes  ago  he  had  been  almost  trembling  with  agitation. 
The  lesson:  Even  great  men  are  only  human. 

When  J.  R.  W.  Sloane  came  to  New  York  City  as  pastor 
he  was  unknown  to  the  New  England  Abolitionists.  For 
manifest  reasons  it  w^as  desirable  to  have  his  cooperation. 
He  had  been  at  one  of  our  Bradford  conventions  but  not  at 
any  of  the  New  York  anniversaries.     I  corresponded  with 


264     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

Rev.  Samuel  May,  secretary  of  the  New  England  society, 
recommending  my  friend  Mr.  Sloane  as  a  representative  Cov- 
enanter and  an  able  speaker.  The  result  was  that  at  the 
next  national  anniversary  Mr.  Sloane  was  one  of  the  speak- 
ers. He  was  welcomed  and  won  honors  as  an  advocate  of 
the  right  and  a  Garrisonian  Covenanter.  After  Oliver 
Johnson  became  editor  of  the  National  Anti-Slavery  Stand- 
ard he  and  Mr.  Sloane  became  intimate  as  Abolitionists; 
and  he  was  on  the  platform  several  times  doing  valiant 
service  for  the  slave  and  for  a  free  government.  Indeed 
few  of  all  the  Abolitionists  had  greater  power  on  the  plat- 
form. Covenanters  were  always  proud  of  him  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  church. 

On  one  occasion,  just  before  the  war  probably,  Mr.  Sloane 
was  invited  to  give  one  of  the  addresses  in  the  New  York 
annual  meeting.  He  was  not  available  at  the  time.  As  his 
substitute  I  recommended  to  Mr.  May  Rtv.  Dr.  A.  M.  Milli- 
gan.  He  accepted  the  invitation.  He  had  never  been  at  an 
anniversary  before  and  had  never  spoken  on  the  platform 
with  any  of  the  New  England  men.  He  evidently  came  not 
well  prepared.  He  had  been  regarded  one  of  our  greatest 
Covenanter  platform  speakers.  I  was  disappointed.  He  fell 
much  below  himself.  I  think  that  when  he  found  himself 
in  the  presence  of  Wendell  Phillips,  Mr.  Garrison  and  others, 
he  was  conscious  of  their  superiority  on  the  anti-slavery 
platform,  and  he  lost  that  self-possession  with  which  he 
generally  spoke. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

The  Trumpet  Blown.     To  Arms! 

The  hanging  of  John  Brown  and  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincohi  on  the  platform  of  "no  extension  of  slave  territory" 
had  widened  the  breach  between  the  north  and  south,  thus 
preparing  for  the  coming  war.  Fort  Sumter  was  captured 
on  the  1 2th  of  April,  1861.  Soon  afterwards  President 
Lincoln  issued  his  proclamation  of  war.  The  whole  country 
had  been  in  a  state  of  agitation;  now  it  became  intense;  and 
yet  few  people  foresaw  how  fearful  the  war  would  become. 
The  taking  of  Fort  Sumter  and  the  warlike  acts  of  the 
south  which  quickly  followed  were  an  attack  upon  the  Union 
and  the  United  States  Constitution.  At  first  it  was  thought 
that  the  organized  Rebellion  would  be  of  short  duration. 
Even  the  President  himself  did  not  foresee  how  powerful  and 
persistent  the  Rebellion  would  be.  At  first  he  called  for 
only  75,000  soldiers.  With  these  he  expected  to  suppress 
it.  The  southern  states  formed  the  Confederacy  intending 
to  cut  loose  from  the  Union,  or  be  independent  of  it,  and 
subsequently  they  formed  a  new  Constitution  for  the  "con- 
federate states  "  Thus  they  did  not  propo.se  to  wage  war 
against  the  United  States  Constitution  and  Government  but 
only  to  form  and  maintain  a  new  southern  confederacy. 
And  thus  President  lyincoln's  declaration  of  war  was  for  the 
defense  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution,  or  to  maintain 
their  integrity  against  the  rebellious  states.  In  no  sense 
except  indirectly  or  remotely  was  it  a  war  for  freedom. 
Neither  the  government  nor  the  President  had  any  intention 

(265) 


266  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSKT    LAND. 

to  iiileifeie  with  the  iiisliiUtioii  of  slavery  or  to  give  freedom 
to  any  of  the  slaves.  The  President  expressly  declared  that 
the  constitutional  pledges  or  compromises,  and  even  the 
fugitive  slave  law  founded  upon  the  Constitution,  would  be 
faithfully  executed  and  obeyed.  He  would  put  down  the 
Rebellion  against  the  Constitution  and  union  slavery  or  no 
slavery.  He  assured  the  south  that  their  slave  property 
should  not  be  disturbed,  but  that  the  United  States  Consti- 
tution should  be  preserved  intact.  And  even  after  the  war 
had  been  in  progress  some  time,  slaves  escaping  from  their 
masters  now  in  rebellion  against  the  government  and  fleeing 
within  the  lines  of  the  northern  army,  were  returned  to  their 
masters;  and  in  many  cases  these  came  within  the  Union 
lines  and  claimed  and  took  back  their  slaves  who  had  fled 
for  protection  to  our  northern  armies.  Besides,  in  no  case 
until  near  the  close  of  the  war  were  any  black  men,  whether 
bond  or  free,  permitted  to  enlist  or  fight  in  the  Union  army. 
Moreover,  two  prominent  generals,  Phelps  and  Fremont, 
who  at  different  times  and  in  different  divisions  of  the  army 
had  issued  proclamations  of  freedom  to  the  slaves  within 
their  military  jurisdiction,  were  dismissed  from  office  and 
dishonored  before  the  nation. 

Thus  as  it  was  a  war  onlj'  for  the  Union  and  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  question  naturally  arose  whether  Abolitionists, 
especially  Covenanters,  should  enlist  as  soldiers.  Some 
Covenanters  argued  that  as  the  Rebellion  was  wicked  and  as 
it  was  a  Rebellion  of  slaveholders,  we  should  help  to 
suppress  it.  Others  of  us  urged  that  as  it  was  a  war  only  in 
defense  of  a  Constitution  and  Union  that  we  had  always 
declared  to  be  pro-slavery  and  atheistic,  we  could  not  now 
fight  for  them.  We  had  favored  a  dissolution  of  the  Union; 
how  could  we  now  fight  to  restore  it  ?  If  it  had  been  a  w^ar 
for  freedom — to  give  liberty  to  the  captives — we  would  not 
have  hesitated  for  a  moment  to  take  up  arras.     If  the  officers 


mn   TRUMPET    BLOWN.       TO    ARMS!  267 

in  the  Union  army  had  been  so  many  John  Browns  leading 
their  regiments  into  the  south  to  emancipate  the  millions,  we 
might  have  been  ready  to  be  colonels  and  captains  or  common 
soldiers  in  the  army  of  liberation.  But  it  was  not  so. 
The  Union  army  was  not  the  army  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  but 
only  the  army  of  the  Union— an  army  to  keep  the  slave- 
holders in  the  Union  and  the  slaveholding  Union  as  before. 
We  would  not  join  it.     We  could  not  be  volunteers. 

What  has  been  written  thus  far  has  reference  to  the  origin 
of  the  war  and  its  character  during  the  first  years  of  its  prog- 
ress.    We  do  not  forget  that  as  the  Rebellion  became  more 
and  more  formidable  and  threatened  to  be  a  success  unless  a 
new  policy  should  be  adopted  and  something  more  vigorous 
be  done,  the  question  became  modified  and  more  difficult  of 
solution.     The  God  of  the  slave  and  the  Lord  of  hosts  with- 
held victory  from  the  armies  of  the  north.     It  was  his  sover- 
eign will  that  unless  the  Federal  Government,  with  President 
Lincoln  at  the  head  of  its  Union  army,   would  change  its 
policy  towards  the  oppressed  and  towards  the  oppressor,  it 
should  be  broken  to  shivers.     The  pro-slavery  policy  of  the 
administration  in  conducting  the  war  became  ultimately  so 
offensive  to  many  of  the  people  of  the  north  while  our  '  'boys 
in  blue"  were  being  cut  down  by  the  bullets  of  the  rebels  or 
the  fearful  diseases  that  decimated  the  Union  army,  a  very 
different  policy  had  to  be  adopted  or  the  Rebellion  would  be 
a  success.     And  as  God  in  his  infinite   mercy  intended  to 
break  the  yoke  of  the  oppressor  by  '  'the  terrible  swift  sword, ' ' 
he  compelled  the  President  and  the  leaders  to  change  their 
policy  for  the  sake   of  saving   the  Union.     Whatever   the 
motive,  as   God  was  pleading  the  cause   of  his  poor,  the 
changes  came,  one  by  one,  until  the  war  seemed  more  like  a 
war  for  freedom.     But  prior  to  these  changes,  or  so  long  as 
the  war  was  carried  on  without  any  favor  being  shown  to  the 
oppressed  millions  and  only  to  save  the  Union,  to  us  it  was 


268  I^OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

clearly  the  duty  of  Covenanters  to  remain  at  home  and  see 
what  the  God  of  armies  would  do. 

For  uttering  such  sentiments  in  private  and  teaching  such 
truths  from  the  pulpit,  the  pastor  of  Topsham  congregation 
endured  all  kinds  of  obloquy  and  threats.  Many  of  the 
Republicans,  and  probably  a  few  of  the  members  of  the 
church,  disapproved  of  my  course;  but  the  opposition  and  the 
threats  came  from  the  pro-slavery  Democrats  who  had  alwa5'S 
hated  the  Abolitionists.  One  morning  after  William  Wells 
Brown  had  given  an  anti-slaver}'  lecture  in  the  church,  a 
note  addressed  to  me  came  to  the  parsonage  where  he  was 
entertained,  threatening  that  if  Brown  did  not  "leave  the 
town  within  twenty-four  hours"  he  would  be  "carried  out." 
But  the  bold  fugitive  slave  lectured  the  next  night  "all  the 
same."  On  Sabbath,  the  5th  of  May,  a  few  weeks  after  the 
proclamation  of  war,  after  closing  the  forenoon  services,  and 
when  about  to  open  the  exercises  of  the  Sabbath-school 
(which  met  during  the  interval)  I  saw,  in  large  letters  writ- 
ten on  the  wall  at  the  side  of  the  pulpit,  these  words:  "Death 
to  traitors  and  nigger  preachers."  Some  one  had  clandes- 
tinely written  it  there  and  no  doubt  to  intimidate  the 
preacher. 

On  the  first  Sabbath  after  the  President's  proclamation  of 
war  against  the  south,  I  preached  a  sermon  from  the  text, 
Matt.  24  :  6.  "And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumors  of 
wars:  see  that  ye  be  not  troubled:  for  all  these  things  must 
come  to  pass,  but  the  end  is  not  yet. ' '  The  following  is  a 
part  of  the  brief  notes  used  in  the  discussion: 

"The  nation  could  not  expect  tranquillity  and  prosperity. 
It  was  not  founded  on  Christian  principle — not  in  subjection 
to  God  or  Chri.st  the  King  of  nations,  or  to  his  law,  but  only 
like  ancient  republics  all  which  passed  away  because  God 
was  not  with  them.  The  government  began  on  the  false 
hypothesis  that  God's  law  can  be  disregarded  and  violated 


THE    TRUMPET    BI^OWN.       TO    ARMS!  -269 

with  impunity.  There  was  no  professed  regard  for  the  Sab- 
bath, the  Christian  religion,  or  God's  friends.  His  enemies 
have  been  honored  and  wicked  men  have  ever  been  not  only 
eligible  to  office  but  often  elected.  How  great  is  this 
national  rebellion  against  the  throne  of  heaven! 

"And  then  the  organic  nation  began  not  by  setting  free  the 

poor  but  by  enslaving  them.      How  could  we  expect  God's 

blessing  to  rest  upon  it?     Rather  does  he  say:  'Shall  not  my 

soul  be  avenged  on  such  a  nation  as  this?'     The  war  is  not 

for  freedom,   not  for  the  slave,  not  between  free  and  slave 

states,    for  slavery  is  still   in  the   states   remaining  in  the 

Union  and  is  still  protected,  nor  is  there  any  intention  to 

disregard  the  constitutional  pledges  to  the  south.     The  war 

is  only  against  rebels  to  the  Union  and  for  property  which 

they  have  seized.     Hence  while  we  regard  the  southerners 

as  very  much  more  guilty  than  the  northerners  as  to  the 

causes  of  the  war  we  can  not  take  sides  with  either.     Both 

are   wrong.     Hence,    brethren,    be   not    troubled.      Be   not 

carried  off  your  feet.     This  is  not  freedom's  battle.     Be  not 

carried  away  in  the  whirlpool  of  agitation.     Our  kingdom 

is  spiritual  and  is  to  be  propagated  not  by  the  sword  but  by 

the  weapons  of  warfare  furnished  by  our  divine  Leader.     By 

all  means   lo.se  not    sight  of  God's  hand.     Our  King  still 

rules,  and  out  of  all  this  strife  he  will  yet  bring  good  to  his 

church  and  to  the  slave." 

After  that  sermon  occasional  threats  came  to  my  ears.  On 
the  same  Sabbath  in  which  the  writing  on  the  wall  was 
observed  I  was  told  that  some  of  the  pro-slavery  party  had 
said  that  if  I  would  speak  another  word  on  the  subject  they 
would  mob  me.  A  member  of  the  church  informed  me  that 
it  was  reported  that  a  mob  of  fifty  men  from  Bradford  and 
Corinth  was  coming  to  attack  me. 

Perhaps  I  was  somewhat  uneasy  though  I  guess  I  was 
not  much  alarmed;  at  all  events  I  went  on  with  my  work 


270  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK    SUNSET    LAND. 

as  before.  That  I  was  not  without  deep  concern  is  manifest 
from  what  I  find  in  my  journal  written  the  day  after  these 
reports  came  to  me:  "Lord  Jesus,  give  me  grace  to  stand 
unmoved  in  this  time  of  peril,  and  allow  me  not  to  withhold 
any  of  thy  truth,  or  to  make  any  compromise  with  sin, 
through  fear  of  man.  Restrain  them — thine  enemies — that 
they  may  not  harm  me.  They  call  me  traitor  because  I 
have  testified  against  the  infidelity  and  pro-slavery  charac- 
ter of  this  government — because  I  have  stood  up  for  thee 
and  thy  poor  children,  the  oppressed.  Well,  let  me  be 
traitor  to  such  an  ungodly  govennnent  as  the  United  States 
if  I  can  only  be  loyal  to  thee.  Thou  hast  taught  me  that 
treason  to  this  government  means  loyalty  to  thee.  Why 
then  need  I  fear  the  wrath  of  man?  "  Then  below  are  the 
following  items,  kind  of  "straws:" 

"Tuesday,  May  7.  Attended  a  wedding  to-day,  and  at  i 
P.  M.  married  Mr."  etc. 

"Wednesday.  At  3  P.  M.  met  with  the  youth  of  the  Sab- 
bath-school to  sing." 

"Thursday.  Went  with  some  little  girls  to  gather  wild 
flowers." 

During  these  months  of  agitation  caused  by  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  I  saw  no  rest  from  labors  of  various  kinds. 
I  can  not  forget  the  goodness  of  God  in  sustaining  me  in 
them.  Besides  the  regular  duties  of  study  for  pulpit  duties, 
visiting  the  sick  and  family  visitation,  about  this  time  I 
attended  more  funerals  than  usual.  During  the  year  pre- 
ceding quite  a  number  of  aged  members,  including  Elder 
McNiece,  the  grandfather  of  Rev.  Dr.  Sloane,  were  removed 
to  the  heavenly  state.  Several  of  the  loveliest  of  the  young 
women,  victims  of  consumption,  were  lost  to  the  congre- 
gation. Conforming  to  the  prevailing  custom  I  always 
preached  a  funeral  sermon  of  ordinary  length  in  the  church 
after  the  burial.     As  oftentimes  some  people  attended  funer- 


THE   TRUMPET    BI,0\VN.       TO    ARMS!  27 1 

als  who  rarely  or  never  went  to  church  on  Sabbath,  I  gen- 
erall}^  studied  to  adapt  the  discourses  to  the  needs  of  the 
unconverted.  So  many  of  both  aged  and  young  were  re- 
moved by  death  from  time  to  time,  the  congregation  would 
have  been  steadily  diminished  by  death  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  frequent  conversions  of  young  people  and  their  addi- 
tion to  the  church.     By  these  I  was  greatly  encouraged. 

Among  the  questions  that  either  all  the  time  or  occasion- 
ally agitated  the  pubhc  mind  was  the  stereotype  question 
of  temperance.  About  this  time  there  were  two  public 
meetings  in  the  town  hall,  the  second  being  an  adjourned 
meeting  to  discuss  a  resolution  that  had  been  reported  at 
the  former,  viz.,  "That  above  all  classes  of  persons  physi- 
cians should  be  most  active  in  the  cause  of  temperance, 
and  that  they  should  cease  to  prescribe  distilled  liquors  as 
medicines."  At  the  previous  meeting  it  was  arranged  or 
understood  that  I  would  discuss  the  resolution  at  this. 
Accordingly  I  spoke  at  some  length  in  favor  of  the  resolu- 
tion especially  the  second  part.  In  the  village  there  were 
two  practising  physicians  and  both  allopathic  or  old  school 
and  both  in  the  habit  of  prescribing  alcoholic  liquors.  One 
of  these.  Dr.  Foster,  was  present.  He  was  a  worthy  citizen, 
a  well-informed  man,  and  we  were  friendly  neighbors.  His 
wife,  a  Congregationalist,  and  he  generally  attended  our 
church.  He  followed  my  speech  and  spoke  at  length  in 
defense  of  his  own  practise  and  that  of  his  school  in  the 
use  of  alcohol.  We  both  spoke  a  second  time.  In  voting 
on  the  resolution  it  was  divided.  The  first  part  pas.sed 
without  any  negative  votes,  but  in  favor  of  the  second  there 
was  not  a  single  vote  besides  my  own,  though  Deacon 
Samuel  Mills,  the  presiding  ofiicer,  had  left  the  chair  to 
make  a  speech  in  favor  of  it.  Thus  I  was  regarded  as  an 
ultra  reformer  and  was  voted  down;  but  I  was  not  discour- 
aged by  being  alone.     I  believed  then   that  I  was  right.     I 


272  LOOKING    HACK    FKOM    THE    SUNSRT    LAND. 

said,  I  will  not  abate  a  jot  or  a  tittle.  And  I  have  lived 
long  enough  to  know  that  now  the  great  majority  of  tem- 
perance people,  and  many  of  the  best  physicians  of  different 
schools,  are  decidedly  opposed  to  alcoholic  medication.  Let 
reformers  of  every  kind  be  more  anxious  to  be  right  than 
to  have  the  applause  of  the  multitude. 

On  Monday  the  29th  of  April,  1861,  the  inmates  of  the 
parsonage  were  made  joyous  when  an  event  occurred  of 
which  the  following  entry  was  made  in  mj^  diary:  "This 
evening  at  nine  o'clock  my  Rosamond  gave  birth  to  a 
daughter,  a  healthy  babe."  "I  pray  and  hope  now  that  as 
I  am  a  father  I  may  be  made  a  better  man  and  a  better 
shepherd  of  the  dear  flock  of  Christ." 

A  few  weeks  atterwards  I  had  to  leave  the  mother  and 
babe  and  go  to  attend  Presbytery  at  Newburgh  and  Synod 
i'l  New  York.  While  in  these  cities  I  spent  leisure  time  in 
soliciting  funds  to  help  the  Topsham  people  to  build  a  new 
house  of  wDrship.  The  old  house  was  not  only  somewhat 
dilapidated  but  antiquated  in  style.  The  people  were  divided 
in  sentiment,  whether  to  repair  the  old  home  or  to  build  a 
new.  Serious  difficulties  arose  growing  out  of  the  fact  that 
quite  a  large  number  of  the  pews  were  the  personal  property 
of  the  occupants  who  were  not  members  of  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church.  Some  of  these  were  unwilling  to  join 
with  the  others  in  the  necessary  repairs.  After  several 
meetings  the  Covenanters  agreed  to  buy  out  all  the  pew 
owners  who  did  not  wish  to  help  in  the  repairs  and  who 
would  sell  their  pews  ;  and  this  plan  was  adopted.  A  few 
were  dissatisfied;  and  one  old  lady  (one  of  the  "outsiders") 
who  did  not  love  the  "Presbyterians"  too  much,  rolled 
up  her  pew  cushion  and  took  it  away  as  her  testimony 
against  the  new  arrangement.  As  soon  as  the  entire  prop- 
erty came  into  the  ownership  of  the  congregation  the  old 
house  was  remodeled  entirely,  and  with  new  pews  and  new 


THE    TRUMPET    BLOWN.       TO    ARMS!  273 

pulpit  appeared  like  a  new  church.  When  it  was  completed 
and  ready  for  occupancy  they  arranged  to  have  a  time  of 
gladness,  a  "dedication."  It  was  on  a  week  day.  I  had 
invited  Brother  Armour  to  be  with  us.  His  address  was  on 
"The  white  schoolhouse  and  the  white  church:  What  they 
mean."  And  we  had  a  real  good  time.  These  dedicating 
exercises  were  in  the  forenoon  of  the  day  of  our  annual 
Sabbath-school  festival.  The  addresses,  etc.,  connected  with 
the  latter  were  in  the  new  church  in  the  afternoon. 

Ever  after  the  old  house  of  worship  came  into  our  posses- 
sion and  was  made  new  we  all  felt  more  at  home  in  it  and 
less  dependent  upon  others,  but  the  denominational  lines 
were  more  tightly  drawn  and  our  Methodist  friends  more 
active  in  efforts  to  build  up  their  own;  though  a  majority  of 
the  people  who  had  always  worshiped  with  the  Presbyterians 
and  were  more  attached  to  us  continued  with  us.  Except 
that  they  did  not  unite  with  the  church  they  .seemed  part  of 
us;  and  from  the  families  of  this  class  came  the  majority  of 
those  who  "joined  themselves  to  the  Lord." 

During  the  first  week  in  November,  1861,  I  left  home  to 
attend  Presbytery  at  New  York  and,  by  invitation,  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Anti-slavery  Society  at 
West  Chester,  Pa.  On  my  way  I  stopped  overnight  in 
Philadelphia  and  went  with  William  Still  to  the  Aboli- 
tionists' social  gathering  at  the  home  of  Eucretia  Mott,  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  Quaker  women  in  the  Garrisonian 
ranks.  Among  the  guests  present  were  William  Eloyd 
Garrison,  Robert  Purvis,  the  eloquent  colored  man,  Sarah 
Pugh,  Mary  Grew  and  Oliver  Johnson,  editor  of  the  Atiti- 
Slavery  Standard  (New  York).  At  the  convention  the 
principal  addresses  were  given  by  Mr.  Garrison  (always 
powerful  and  faithful),  Robert  Purvis,  Mary  Grew,  a  noble 
Quaker  woman  who  gave  her  whole  life  to  the  cause  of  the 
slave,  and  Miss  Anna  Dickinson,  then  resident  in  Philadel- 
18 


274  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND. 

phia,  and  one  of  the  most  eloquent  of  all  the  women  who  had 
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  oppressed.  I  had  been  pressed  into 
the  service  and  had  promised  to  give  at  least  a  short  addre.ss 
or  I  could  scarcely  have  dared  to  speak  on  the  platform  with 
such  persons.  However,  at  the  evening  session  I  spoke 
about  twenty  minutes  on  the  guilt  of  the  pro-slav^ery 
churches.  This  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  show,  incident- 
ally, that  Covenanters  like  the  Quakers  were  an  exception 
to  the  rule.  It  was  a  duty  the  more  difficult  to  perform  be- 
cause of  the  presence  of  J.  Smith  Futhey,  Esq.,  an  elder  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  West  Chester,  whose  guest  I 
was  while  there.  Part  of  my  errand  there  was  to  form  his 
acquaintance  and  obtain  important  information  from  him. 
Mr.  Futhey's  grandfather  was  a  brother  of  my  grandmother 
Mary  (Futhey)  Johnston.  At  the  time  that  I  was  at  the 
convention  and  entertained  in  his  family  he  was  engaged  in 
writing  a  genealogical  history  or  family  record,  tracing  the 
line  of  our  family  back  to  Sir  Archibald  Johnston,  or  Lord 
Warriston  of  Scotland.  I  had  been  helping  him  a  little  in 
his  work,  and  he  promised  me  a  copy  of  the  book  when 
published.  But  he  never  completed  it,  or  did  not  get  it 
ready  for  the  press  before  his  death.  Subsequently  I  tried 
several  times  to  see  the  manuscripts  or  to  get  the  use  of 
them  for  a  while,  but  I  failed.  Mrs.  Futhey,  his  widow,  in 
whose  possession  they  were,  became  so  enfeebled  in  mind  for 
a  time  that  I  had  to  cease  from  my  efforts. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Unexpected  Call  to  Special  Duties. 

Our  winter  comnmnioii  this  year  was  on  the  last  Sabbath 
of  December  when  the  war,  becoming  more  and  more  threat- 
ening, occupied  the  minds  of  all  classes  of  people.  Wishing 
to  use  this  fact  for  the  good  of  souls  to  whom  it  was  my 
privilege  to  preach,  for  the  action  sermon  I  chose  the  text: 
Ps.  20  :  5,  second  clause:  "In  the  name  of  our  God  we  will 
set  up  our  banners."  Making  the  whole  discourse  subser- 
vient to  personal  religion  and  the  highest  good  of  the  church 
of  God,  using  military  terms  to  illustrate  the  holy  war  of 
religion,  I  spoke  of  the  Army,  the  Leader,  the  Cause,  the 
Banner,  and  the  Soldier's  Vow.  Communion  Sabbath  was 
the  29th  of  December.  On  Wednesday,  January  i,  1862, 
this  entry  was  made:  "To-day  I  write  my  twofold  motto  for 
the  year  upon  which  God  has  permitted  me  to  enter:  'Thou 
God  seest  me, '  and,  'Redeeming  the  time  because  the  days 
are  evil.'  "  The  next  day's  mail  brought  me  a  very  un- 
expected letter  from  Rev.  Dr.  S.  O.  Wylie  of  the  Board  of 
Missions,  Philadelphia,  informing  me  that  they  were  con- 
templating a  mission  among  the  ex-slaves,  afterwards  called 
"contrabands,"  at  Port  Royal,  S.  C  ,  and  asking  me  if  I 
would  be  willing  to  go  thither  to  explore  or  see  what  could 
be  done  provided  the  board  wished  me.  I  replied  that  the 
inquiry  came  so  unexpectedly  and  at  a  time  when  I  did  not 
see  how  I  could  leave  my  work  at  home,  yet  if  it  was  the 
will  of  the  Board  to  send  me  I  would  try  to  go  if  no  serious 
obstacles  would  prevent. 

(275) 


276  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

Shortly  before  that  letter  was  received  the  northern  army 
had  taken  possession  of  Port  Royal  and  the  sea  islands  on 
the  South  Carolina  coast  between  Charleston  and  Savannah. 
The  little  city  of  Beaufort  (pronounced  Bufort),  about  twelve 
miles  up  the  Beaufort  River  above  Hilton  Head,  and  the 
principal  business  center  of  the  cotton  trade  for  those  sea 
islands,  as  well  as  the  home  of  many  of  the  rich  cotton 
planters,  was  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Union  Army. 
At  the  approach  of  the  UniQn  Army  the  whites  had  all  fled 
into  the  interior  leaving  nearly  all  the  slaves — almost  every 
one  except  some  house  servants  that  were  willing  to  go 
with  them.  The  great  mass  of  the  plantation  slaves  re- 
mained on  the  islands,  and  others  yjere  fleeing  from  the 
interior  or  mainland  within  the  lines  of  the  Union  Army. 
It  was  to  these  slaves  that  the  Board  thought  it  their  duty 
to  send  the  Gospel  and  the  spelling-book. 

After  the  lapse  of  several  weeks  I  received  a  letter  from 
the  Board  informing  me  that  they  had  appointed  me  as 
agent  to  proceed  to  Beaufort  to  explore  and  labor  for  the 
educational  and  religious  interests  of  the  ex-slaves  now 
within  the  lines  of  the  army ;  and  to  remain  if  practicable 
until  Synod. 

On  the  Sabbath  following  the  reception  of  this  letter  I 
asked  the  session  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  that 
I  might  inform  them  of  the  action  of  the  board.  The  meet- 
ing was  on  the  next  Tuesday.  I  narrated  the  action  of  the 
board  and  asked  the  approbation  of  my  own  action.  This 
was  unanimously  granted;  though  some  expressed  regrets 
that  I  would  have  to  be  absent  so  long.  I  promised,  how- 
ever, that  I  would  try  to  have  the  pulpit  supplied  at  least 
part  of  the  time  in  my  absence. 

With  what  reluctance  I  left  home  appears  from  the  entry 
made  in  my  journal  after  my  departure:  "I  bade  good-by  to 
my  beloved  wife  and  little  child.     Never  was  it  so  hard  to 


S.   O,   Wylie,    D.    D, 


UNEXPElC'rED   CALL   TO   SPECIAL   DUTIES.  277 

leave  home.  The  call  seemed  providential,  wholly  unex- 
pected, yet  so  peculiar  and  pressing  I  could  not  refuse  to 
go.  I  was  in  a  strait  betwixt  two.  The  heart  said:  'Stay 
with  dear  wife  and  daughter,  and  with  the  flock  so  beloved 
and  loving.'  But  the  Spirit  said:  'Go  and  preach  Christ  to 
God's  poor  children  long  scattered  and  peeled.'  Conferring 
not  with  flesh  and  blood,  I  gave  myself  to  the  work  at  least 
for  a  time." 

Following  the  instructions  of  the  Board  I  hastened  to 
Philadelphia  to  make  arrangements  for  my  departure  to 
Port  Royal.  I  could  not  get  there  without  a  passport  from 
military  officials  or  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington. 
Going  on  to  the  Capitol  I  there  met  Rev.  Mr.  French, 
of  New  York,  a  Methodist  minister  who  had  been  at  Port 
Royal  and  was  now  making  arrangements  to  take  back 
with  him  a  company  of  teachers  to  labor  among  the  slaves. 
Arrangements  were  being  made  by  which  he  and  they  could 
go  from  New  York  on  passports  given  them  by  the  custom- 
house officials  to  go  on  one  of  the  government  transport 
vessels.  Consulting  with  Senator  Harlan,  Rev.  French, 
and  others,  I  followed  their  advice  and  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia and  reported  to  the  Board  at  a  called  meeting. 
They  advised  me  to  pursue  the  method  suggested  by 
Rev.  Mr.  French.  Indeed  there  seemed  to  be  no  other  way 
of  getting  a  passport  and  of  getting  to  Port  Royal. 

As  I  could  not  get  away  from  Philadelphia  until  after  the 
Sabbath  the  Board  made  arrangements  for  me  to  preach  and 
present  the  claims  of  the  proposed  mission.  During  the  day 
I  preached  for  Rev.  S.  O.  Wylie;  and  in  the  evening,  as 
requested  by  the  Board,  in  the  Cherry  Street  church,  Rev. 
J.  M.  Willson  pastor.  Both  pastors  and  Rev.  R.  Z.  Willson 
were  in  the  pulpit.  I  preached  from  Luke  7:  22,  last  clause, 
"To  the  poor  the  Gospel  is  preached."  The  house  was 
crowded  full,   not   because  of  the   speaker,  for  he  had  no 


278  I^OOKING   BACK    PROM    THE   SUNSElT    I,AND. 

reputation  as  a  preacher,  but  because  of  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  the  importance  as  well  as  newness  of  the  work 
undertaken  by  the  Board.  Besides  Covenanters  there  were 
many  colored  people  present,  William  Still  among  others. 
On  coming  down  from  the  pulpit  man}'  friends,  especially 
the  colored  people,  gathered  around  me  and  bade  me  God- 
speed and  blessed  me.  Two  of  them,  lately  from  South 
Carolina,  said  they  could  testify  from  experience  to  the 
truth  of  much  that  I  had  said  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
slaves.  Among  others  was  a  large  and  noble-looking  white 
man  who  manifested  much  interest  in  the  cause.  He  bade 
me  Godspeed  and  put  a  five-dollar  bill  into  my  hand  to  help 
in  the  work.  The  next  morning  he  called  upon  me  at  my 
lodging,  and  took  the  address  for  sending  clothing  to  Port 
Royal,  and  told  me  that  the  women  at  his  house  were  pre- 
paring to  put  up  two  boxes  of  clothing  for  the  ex-slaves  at 
Beaufort.  That  man  was  the  brave  old  hero  of  the  "branded 
hand,"  Jonathan  Walker.  In  the  palm  of  his  hand  were 
the  two  large  letters,  S.  S.,  that  had  been  burnt  deeply  into 
the  flesh  by  red-hot  irons.  Those  letters  meant  slave  stealer. 
He  had  been  master  of  a  sailing  vesstl  that  plied  between 
some  southern  port  and  one  in  Massachusetts.  Some  fugi- 
tive slaves  had  taken  refuge  on  board  the  vessel  hoping  to 
escape  north.  The  vessel  was  seized  by  the  man-hunters. 
The  captain  was  tried  and  condemned,  thrown  into  prison, 
and  his  hand  branded,  S.  S.  The  event  occurred  probably 
in  1846.  It  gave  inspiration  to  one  of  Whittier's  most 
indignant  "Voices  of  Freedom,"  ''The  Branded  Hand,'" 
from  which  I  beg  leave  to  copy  only  two  stanzas: 

"For,  while  the  jurist  sitting  with  the  slave-whip  o'er  him  swung, 
From  the  tortured  truths  of  freedom  the  lie  of  slavery  wrung, 
And  the  solemn  priest  of  Moloch,  on  each  God-deserted  shrine, 
Broke  the  bondman's  heart  for  bread,  poured  the  bondman's  blood 
for  wine — 


UNEXPECTED   CAlvI,  TO   SPECIAI,   DUTIES.  279 

"While  the  multitude  in  blindness  to  a  far-off'  Saviour  knelt, 
And  spurned,  the  while,  the  temple  where  a  present  Saviour  dwelt; 
Thou  beheld'st  Him  in  the  task-field,  in  the  prison  shadows  dim, 
And  thy  mercy  to  the  bondman,  it  was  mercy  unto  Him  ! " 

While  I  was  detained  in  Philadelphia,  both  times,  I  was 
entertained  by  the  family  of  that  grand  old  Abolitionist, 
William  Brown,  an  elder  in  the  Second  Congregation.  At 
that  time  the  women  had  gathered  clothing  sufficient  to  fill 
two  large  boxes  to  send  to  the  "contrabands"  at  Port  Royal. 

Rettirning  to  New  York  I  was  detained  over  Sabbath 
waiting  for  the  sailing  of  the  transport  ship.  In  the  fore- 
noon I  preached  in  the  Sullivan  Street  church,  J.  C.  K. 
Milligan  pastor,  on  the  text:  "  And  when  He  was  come  near 
He  beheld  the  city,  and  wept  over  it."  In  the  afternoon  I 
addressed  the  Sabbath-school  of  the  Third  Congregation  on 
the  claims  of  the  proposed  mission  at  Port  Royal,  and  heard 
Pastor  Sloane  preach  an  earnest  and  powerful  sermon  from, 
"Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,"  etc. 

In  procuring  a  passport  I  had  much  difficulty  but  was 
greatly  assisted  by  Brother  Sloane.  He  was  a  member  of  a 
committee  appointed  to  examine  members  of  a  large  com- 
pany of  missionary  teachers,  mostly  from  Massachusetts  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Pierce,  of  Boston,  and 
now  on  their  way  to  Port  Royal.  These  missionaries  were 
sent  by  Secretary  Chase  of  the  Treasury  Department  at 
Washington  to  take  charge  of  the  abandoned  plantations  on 
the  sea  islands  and  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  contra- 
bands on  them.  The  work  of  the  committee  was  to  examine 
the  men  who  had  volunteered  their  service  and  to  see  that 
no  tinfit  or  disloyal  persons  might  receive  passports.  By 
the  same  government  vessel  quite  a  number  of  other  persons 
were  going  to  the  new  mission  field,  among  whom  were 
Rev.  Mr.  French  and  wife,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,    who    took    with    them    a    band   of  lady  teachers. 


28o  LOOKING   BACK    PROM   THK   SUNSET    LAND. 

They  all  were  expecting  to  get  their  passports  through  the 
same  agency. 

It  was  probably  on  Saturday  afternoon  I  went  to  the  room 
where  a  sub-officer  of  the  custom-house,  and  a  Christian 
young  man,  was  in  charge.  I  had  expected  to  meet  Mr. 
Sloane  there.  He  did  not  come.  The  young  man  handed 
me  a  copy  of  a  passport  on  which  was  printed  a  form  of  a 
pledge  or  promise  or  oath  which  he  asked  me  to  sign.  I 
read  it  and  asked  him  to  explain  it  as  I  did  not  know  what 
it  was  or  what  its  design.  It  pledged  the  signer  to  loyalty 
to  the  United  States  Government.  I  said  I  could  not  sign 
it  as  I  believed  the  Constitution  and  government  were  both 
unchristian  and  pro-slavery.  He  replied,  however,  that  the 
oath  was  intended  to  be  only  a  test  of  loyalty  to  the  north 
against  the  south — loyalty  to  the  government  against  the 
Southern  Confederacy — and  that  its  design  was  simply  to 
prevent  any  one  from  getting  a  passport  to  go  into  the  army 
lines  who  was  not  friendly  to  the  north,  or  who  might  betray 
the  northern  cause  there.  I  accepted  his  explanation  and 
said  that  I  would  sign  the  document  with  that  understanding. 
I  signed  it  and  put  the  passport  in  my  pocket  supposing 
that  nothing  more  would  be  needed.  No  oath  was  adminis- 
tered; it  was  merely  signed.  I  never  had  seen  or  heard  an 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  at  that  time  it  did  not  occur  to  me 
that  it  was  the  regular  oath  of  allegiance,  as  probably  it  was. 

The  Sabbath  being  over,  early  on  Monday  morning  my 
trunk,  partly  filled  with  books,  etc.,  to  be  used  in  the  schools 
for  the  slaves,  was  sent  to  the  ship  and  put  on  board.  After 
early  breakfast  and  family  prayers  in  the  home  of  my  beloved 
friend.  Elder  Andrew  Knox,  he  went  with  me  to  the  ship, 
saw  me  aboard,  and  bade  me  good-by.  Soon  afterward  the 
custom-house  officer,  Arthur  Tappan,  then  collector  of  the 
port,  came  to  the  vessel  just  as  they  were  about  to  haul  in 
her  cables  and  asked  me  for  my  passport.     I  showed  it  to 


UNEXPECTED   CALL   TO   SPECIAL   DUTIES.  28 1 

him  He  said,  "That  is  all  right,"  and  then  asked  me  to 
raise  my  hand,  whereupon  he  administered  the  oath,  signed 
it  officially,  and  handed  it  back  to  me.  Just  as  the  ship  was 
being  loosed  and  pushed  out  from  the  wharf.  Brother  Sloane 
came  hurrying  towards  the  vessel  only  in  time  to  wave  his 
hand  and  say,  "Good-by." 

I  have  been  thus  minute  in  this  narrative  because  it  ap- 
peared afterwards  that  I  had  been  ensnared  and  because  in 
due  time  my  action  was  brought  under  review. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
"They  That  Go   Down  to  the  Sea  in  Ships." 

Our  steamer,  the  Atla^itic,  was  one  of  the  old  Cunard  line. 
It  had  been  chartered  by  the  government  and  was  now  used 
as  a  war  transport  ship.  Besides  the  soldiers  on  board  and 
the  missionaries,  there  were  a  few  persons  specially  favored 
by  the  government.  One  of  these  was  Rev.  Dr.  Floy,  a 
Methodist  of  New  York.  He  was  my  room-mate.  Mrs. 
Harlan,  wife  of  Senator  Harlan,  whose  acquaintance  I  had 
formed  at  Washington,  being  in  feeble  health,  was  a  passen- 
ger. The  senator  had  requested  me  to  befriend  her  during 
the  voyage.  I  was  amply  repaid  for  it  for  she  was  a  highly 
cultured  Christian  woman,  and  a  good  Methodist. 

We  steamed  out  of  New  York  harbor  on  Monday  the  3rd 
of  March.  It  was  my  first  sea  voyage.  The  first  part  of  it 
was  exceedingly  boisterous,  even  fearful.  One  of  the  ofiicers 
told  me  that  he  had  crossed  the  Atlantic  many  times  but  had 
never  seen  such  a  stormy  voyage.  The  storm  arose  the  first 
night  we  were  out  and  did  not  begin  to  subside  until  after 
we  passed  Cape  Hatteras.  Of  several  hundred  passengers 
it  was  said  that  only  five  or  six  went  to  the  breakfast  table. 
I  experienced  such  seasickness  as  is  the  lot  of  the  many 
"  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,"  and  as  long  as  the  storm 
continued  I  had  no  notion  of  becoming  a  sailor.  And  yet 
the  experience  was  useful  to  me.  The  storm  was  most 
violent  on  Wednesday  evening  and  night.  On  Thursday 
morning  after  describing  it  in  my  journal,  I  made  the  follow- 
ing entry :  ' '  Deep  emotions  of  grandeur  and  of  awe  were 
( 282 ) 


AN  oce;an  voyage;.  283 

commingled.  I  felt  as  near  to  death  and  to  God  as  ever  in 
my  life.  I  tried  often  to  lift  up  my  heart  to  him  in  ejacula- 
tory  prayer.  I  found  the  greatest  calmness,  however,  when 
endeavoring  to  allay  the  fears  of  poor  Mrs.  Harlan.  She 
was  exceedingly  alarmed.  I  tried  to  calm  her  mind,  but  I 
could  not.  She  sickened.  Violent  palpitation  of  the  heart 
followed.  I  sought  medical  aid  of  the  ship  surgeon;  but  I 
did  not  leave  her  until  after  midnight.  Mrs.  French  and 
Mrs.  Nicholson  aided  in  taking  care  of  her." 

During  the  remainder  of  the  night,  to  avoid  seasickness, 
some  of  us  put  on  our  rubber  overcoats  and  went  upon  the 
hurricane  deck  and  remained  until  morning,  the  good  ship 
all  the  time  rolling  and  tossing  as  though  she  must  be  broken 
to  pieces  by  the  waves.  As  ray  companions  were  Christian 
young  men  mostly  from  Massachusetts,  on  their  way  to 
mission  work,  the  hours  of  that  dark  night  were  spent  in 
pleasant  religious  conversation. 

During  the  voyage  we  had  two  interesting  meetings  in 
the  upper  cabin.  The  first  was  a  prayer-meeting  which  was 
attended  by  a  large  number.  The  second  was  a  meeting 
under  the  arrangement  of  Mr.  Pierce,  the  superintendent  of 
the  government's  company  of  teachers  going  to  take  charge 
of  the  abandoned  plantations.  His  plans  were  stated  and 
his  directions  given  in  an  address  of  great  beauty  in  which 
he  labored  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  appointees  the 
benevolent  character  of  the  work  and  the  responsibility  of 
the  workers.  Rev.  Mr.  French  also  spoke  and  emphasized 
the  necessity  of  strict  Sabbath  observance. 

Because  of  the  long-continued  storm  and  of  head  winds, 
we  did  not  reach  off  Hilton  Head  harbor  until  Friday  night. 
The  tide  being  low  we  could  not  cross  the  bar  and  we  had 
to  lie  out  at  sea  until  Saturday  at  12  o'clock  when  at  high 
tide  a  pilot  took  us  into  harbor,  where  we  dropped  anchor  at 
1:30  P.  M.     The  bay  was  full  of  boats,  ships  and  gunboats. 


284  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

The  fortifications  on  French  Island  and  Hilton  Head  were 
low  and  not  very  formidable.  From  our  ship  we  could  see 
that  the  place  was  occupied  by  a  strong  military  force,  Gen- 
eral Hunter  in  command  of  the  entire  division.  After  long 
delay  we  were  transferred  to  an  ordinary  river  steamer  to 
take  us  to  Beaufort,  twelve  miles  up  the  river.  Owing  to 
low  tide  we  were  stranded  and  did  not  reach  the  landing 
until  near  midnight  and  had  to  remain  on  board  until  morn- 
ing. As  there  were  no  beds  in  the  boat,  like  the  others  I 
had  the  luxury  of  a  sleep  on  the  floor  with  my  valise  for  a 
pillow. 

The  war  began  in  the  spring  of  1861.  Port  Royal  was 
taken  by  the  northern  army  in  the  following  autumn.  On 
the  entrance  of  the  Union  gunboats  and  transport  ships  into 
the  harbor  at  Hilton  Head,  the  whites  of  all  the  islands  fled 
in  haste  into  the  mainland  taking  with  them  nothing  but 
their  carriages  and  personal  effects  and  such  '  'home  servants' ' 
(slaves)  as  they  could  persuade  to  go  with  them,  and  leaving 
to  the  tender  mercy  of  the  Yankees  their  houses,  furniture, 
stock,  and  nearly  all  the  slaves  on  the  plantations.  These 
were  nearly  all  cotton  plantations  and  produced  the  finest 
quality  grown  in  the  south.  The  whole  number  of  slaves 
left  amounted  to  many  thousands  on  five  or  six  islands. 
The  commercial  center  of  these  was  the  little  city  of  Beaufort 
on  the  island  and  river  of  the  same  name. 

When  our  Board  of  Missions  resolved  to  open  a  mission 
among  the  slaves  on  those  islands,  it  could  not  be  known 
what  the  results  of  the  war  would  be.  The  Board  could  not 
foresee  whether  the  slaves  there  would  become  free  or  not. 
But  the  God  of  the  oppressed  had  decreed  that  they  should 
become  "contrabands"  of  war,  that  the  contrabands  should 
become  freedmen,  and  that  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
should  have  a  freedman's  mission.  I  was  not  appointed 
missionary  except    to   visit  the    place,    explore,    make   the 


AN    OCEAN    VOYAGE.  285 

experiment,  teach  and  preach,  thus  beginning  the  work  and 
then  report  to  the  board.  This  all  was  done  in  the  confi- 
dent expectation  that  it  would  be  approved  by  Synod  and 
the  mission  be  established.  I  went  to  the  field  alone  and  a 
stranger.  I  knew  no  one  there,  and  no  one  knew  me  except 
some  who  went  down  on  the  same  steamer.  Without  delay 
I  began  to  obtain  necessary  information  and  look  for  an 
open  door.  The  greatest  obstacles  were  two — the  whole 
region,  including  the  city  of  Beaufort,  was  under  military 
control;  and  the  "contrabands"  were  greatly  demoralized. 
All  had  been  thrown  into  confusion,  and  the  abandoned 
slaves  could  not  know  whether  they  would  become  free  or 
fall  back  into  the  hands  of  their  former  owners.  Besides, 
all  the  ex-slaves  were  held  by  the  government  which  claimed 
the  right  to  control  them  and  to  require  them  to  work  on 
the  plantations  or  for  the  army.  Moreover,  all  the  houses 
in  Beaufort  as  well  as  the  planters'  homes  that  had  been 
abandoned  were  held  by  the  military,  the  officers  being 
quartered  in  the  mansions  of  the  rich.  The  churches  were 
the  only  exceptions.  These  could  be  occupied  for  worship 
or  schools  only  by  the  permission  of  Brigadier- General 
Stevens  then  in  command  at  Beaufort.  He  was  a  southerner 
by  birth  and  residence  but  had  been  in  the  military  service 
in  the  north  before  the  war.  He  was  strongly  pro-slavery 
and  was  believed  by  many  of  the  soldiers  and  officers  to  be 
in  sympathy  with  the  Rebellion  or  with  the  slaveholders  in 
it.  I  did  not  know  these  facts  at  first  but  soon  found  out 
that  he  was  not  at  all  in  sympathy  with  the  educational  and 
missionary  movements  that  were  begun.  Before  the  double 
force  that  went  down  on  the  Atlantic  steamer  had  reached 
Beaufort,  two  missionaries  had  entered  the  field  and  had 
begun  work,  viz.  Rev.  Dr.  Peck,  of  Boston,  who  went  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Baptist  board  to  look  after  the  Baptist 
slaves  and  to  preach  in  the  Baptist  Church.     A  very  large 


286  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

majority  of  the  abandoned  slaves  were  Baptists,  and  hundreds 
of  them  had  been  owned  by  the  pastor  of  the  Beaufort 
Church.  The  other  was  Mr.  McCrea,  a  layman  who  occu- 
pied some  position  in  connection  with  the  quartermaster's 
department  and  who  was  a  kind  of  missionary  acting  under 
the  auspices  of  the  American  Missionary  Association.  He 
was  an  uneducated  Scotchman,  and  did  not  teach  or  make 
any  provisions  for  schools;  but  he  had  one  good  trait — he 
was  in  sympathy  with  the  slaves  and  tried  to  see  that  they 
might  not  suffer  wrong  at  the  hands  of  the  soldiers. 

The  Sabbath  morning's  southern  sun  having  risen,  the 
missionaries  and  teachers  were  conducted  from  the  boat  to 
places  that  had  been  provided.  Mr.  McCrea  came  and  in- 
vited me  to  breakfast  with  him,  and  then  conducted  me  to 
the  headquarters  of  Colonel  Leasure  of  the  Pennsylvania  One 
Hundredth  ("Round-head")  Regiment,  Rev.  R.  A.  Browne 
chaplain,  to  whom  I  had  letters  of  introduction.  Dr.  Browne 
was  the  pastor  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
Castle,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  large  number  of  the  "Round- 
heads," called  also  the  "Psalm-singing  Regiment,"  were 
United  Presbyterians.  At  the  hour  for  regimental  religious 
services  Dr.  Browne  took  me  with  him  to  the  cliurch — a  large 
old  Episcopal  house  that  had  been  left  vacant  by  the  flight 
of  the  rector  and  his  parishioners.  In  this  house  the  regi- 
ment worshiped  on  Sabbaths  where  the  chaplain  preached 
as  at  home.  They  u.sed  the  Bible  psalms  in  a  little  book  of 
selections. 

Colonel  Leasure,  a  phj^^sician  and  a  New  Light  Cov- 
enanter of  New  Castle,  Pa.,  on  learning  who  and  what  I  was, 
kindly  invited  me  to  remain  at  his  headquarters  and  be  his 
guest  until  I  would  find  a  place  of  lodging.  Meanwhile  Dr. 
Browne's  kindness  was  that  of  a  brother,  for  he  shared  the 
chaplain's  room  and  the  chaplain's  bed  with  his  newly- 
found  Covenanter  friend  during  the  week  that  I  remained 


AN    OCEAN    VOYAGE.  287 

at  the  regimental  headquarters.  The  house  had  been  the 
mansion  of  a  rich  planter  so  that  the  present  occupants  lived 
"  in  style."  It  was  not  easy,  however,  to  forget  that  a  little 
while  ago  that  old  mansion  had  been  the  home  of  a  family 
whose  wealth  consisted  largely  in  the  ownership  of  men, 
women,  and  children  bought  and  sold  and  separated  at  the 
will  of  the  master,  made  to  toil  without  wages,  driven  by  the 
overseer's  lash  in  the  cotton  field,  deprived  of  education  and 
the  Gospel,  and  made  beasts  of  burden  herded  together  in 
the  "nigger  quarters"  of  the  plantation.  On  every  wall  I 
could  almost  see  the  blood  of  the  beaten  house  servant,  I 
could  hear  the  echo  of  his  cries  for  mercy,  or  the  wail  of  the 
mother  whose  son  had  been  sold  to  the  "rice  swamp  dank 
and  lone,"  or  whose  beautiful  daughter  had  been  purchased 
by  some  lecherous  brute  whom  the  people  called  a  "chival- 
rous southerner." 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

Among  the  "Contrabands." 

Having  surveyed  the  town  on  Monday  and  getting  such 
facts  as  bore  upon  the  question  of  the  location  of  the  mission  , 
desiring  to  be  separated  from  other  workers  as  much  as  would 
be  practicable,  and  learning  that  on  Barnwell  Island  none 
of  Mr.  Pierce's  superintendents  would  be  located,  I  accepted 
Colonel  Measure's  offer  of  his  confiscated  horse  and  carriage 
and  colored  driver  and  rode  over  the  old  oyster-shell  road 
ten  miles  to  the  military  encampment  on  the  river  separating 
the  two  islands.  As  the  colonel  had  given  me  a  pass,  and 
also  a  letter  to  Lieutenant  Critslow,  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Critslow 
of  New  Brighton,  Pa.,  I  was  quickly  ferried  over  the  river 
and  accompanied  by  the  lieutenant  outside  the  picket  lines 
to  the  slave  quarters  at  the  upper  end  of  the  island.  Here  I 
found  only  a  few  slaves  in  an  almost  abandoned  "nigger 
town."  *  They  had  been  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  rebels 
across  the  river,  for  the  place  was  about  a  mile  outside  the 
picket  lines  of  the  Union  soldiers,  and  being  nearly  starved 

*This  was  the  name  commonly  given  to  the  slave  quarters  on  the 
southern  plantations.  This,  like  all  I  saw  on  the  cotton  plantations 
of  those  "sea  islands,"  so  called,  consisted  of  two  parallel  rows  of 
shanties  in  which  the  slave  families  lodged.  The  overseer's  house 
was  not  far  distant.  The  whole  island  of  five  hundred  acres  belonged 
to  Mr.  Trescott  who,  under  President  James  Buchanan,  had  been  As- 
sistant Secretary  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  His  residence,  at 
the  other  end  of  the  island,  about  two  miles  from  the  slave  quarters,  was 
a  lordly  mansion.  When  I  was  there  it  was  the  headquarters  of  a 
company  of  the  "Round-head  Regiment"  left  to  form  the  picket  guard. 

(288) 


AMONG   THE    "CONTRABANDS."  289 

for  want  of  provisions  the  slaves  had  escaped  to  Beaufort 
to  get  work  and  food.     One  of  the  few  remaining  told  me 
that  the  "old  preacher"  was  yet  there.     He  took  me  to  the 
preacher.     He  had  been  a  kind  of  exhorter  in  the  evening 
meetings.     I  asked  him  if  any  of  the  colored  people  there 
could   read.      "Yes   sah,    one."     "Who  is  he  ? "     "  I  can 
read,  sah."     I  took  out  of  my  pocket  a  tract  or  paper  and 
asked  him  to  read  a  little  to  me.      "O  sah,  I  don't  know  the 
letters."      "But  you  told  me  you  can  read."      "Yes  sah,  I 
can  read  out  the  hymns,  sah."      "Ah,   I  see."     Poor   old 
"Renty."     He  was  a  fine-looking  black  man  and  he  might 
have  been  a  scholarly  doctor  of  divinity  if  he  had  had  as  fair 
a  chance  as  the  ordinary  white  D.  D.     But  he  had  been  a 
plantation  slave  and  had  tried  at  the  night  meetings  of  the 
slaves  to   "read  out"    the  hymns,    line  by  Une  as  he  had 
learned  them  by  hearing  others  read  them.     He  did  "what 
he  could,"  more  than  some  who  have  all  the  lore  of  the 
schools  and  seminaries. 

After  fuller  study  of  the  situation  I  saw  it  was  useless  to 
think  of  locating  the  mission  there  under  the  fire  of  the  rebel 
guns;  and  so  I  returned  to  Beaufort.  On  thinking  over  the 
whole  field,  seeing  the  difficulty  if  not  the  impossibility  of 
doing  proper  mission  work  on  any  of  the  plantations,  and 
believing  that  the  Covenanter  Church  had  as  good  a  right 
as  any  to  occupy  the  best  part  of  the  whole,  I  resolved  to 
locate  the  mission  in  Beaufort.  What  followed  this  resolu- 
tion will  appear  from  entries  made  in  my  journal  from  time 
to  time.  Some  of  them  may  be  slightly  modified  in  verbiage 
as  they  were  not  written  except  for  private  use. 

"Wecfnesday,  March  12.  To-day  I  have  been  trying  to 
procure  a  suitable  house  in  which  to  open  a  school  and  to 
preach.  I  can  do  nothing  without  the  leave  of  the  miHtary. 
Rev.  Dr.  Peck,  a  Baptist  from  Boston,  has  partly  preoccupied 
the  field,  but  it  is  large  and  there  is  room  yet." 
19 


290  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

"Thursday,  13.  This  morning  at  7  o'clock  I  heard  the 
driver's  horn,  not  on  the*  plantation  but  on  the  levee  where 
are  employed  many  of  the  slaves  making  a  new  pier.  They 
are  under  a  supervisor  or  driver,  and  I  fear  they  are  driven 
and  abused  almost  as  much  as  when  on  the  plantations.  They 
have  a  change  of  masters  only.  The  government  or  army 
claims  the  right  to  control  them  now.  They  seem  to  know 
nothing  but  to  obey." 

"Friday,  14.  This  afternoon  I  saw  an  old  man,  Toby, 
almost  naked.  His  master  had  left  him  destitute.  All  his 
children  were  gone.  He  said  he  had  had  no  shoes  for  three 
years.  He  was  trembling  with  disease  or  age.  He  said  he 
was  on  his  way  to  General  Stevens  for  a  piece  of  bread.  I 
will  clothe  him."  (None  of  the  boxes  of  clothing  from  the 
north  had  arrived  yet.) 

"  I  have  had  a  long  talk  with  an  old  man,  Tarquin  Cohen, 
a  deacon  in  the  Episcopal  Church  (colored)  before  the  mem- 
bers had  been  taken  away.  He  seems  not  to  have  known 
the  sinfulness  of  slaveholding.  His  master  was  good  and 
kind  (he  says),  would  not  separate  families,  was  not  cruel. 
Hence  he  seems  not  to  regard  his  master  as  a  sinner.  I 
labored  to  give  him  light.  He  received  it.  When  I  rea- 
soned from  the  Scriptures  he  seemed  to  be  gladdened.  I 
read  several  passages  from  the  Bible  against  slavery  and 
then  asked  him  if  he  had  ever  heard  them  read  in  the  church  or 
anywhere.  He  had  often  heard  portions  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  had  become  familiar  with  them,  but  he  did  not  know 
that  such  as  I  had  read  were  in  the  Bible.  He  listened  to 
them  and  asked  me  to  explain  them.  He  was  exceedingly 
delighted.  At  this  interview  he  told  me  that  his  master  had 
taken  away  all  his  (Cohen's)  children,  and  he  had  no  idea 
where  they  were." 

On  learning  that  I  had  come  from  the  north  to  teach  and 
to  preach  to  the  slaves  he  became  greatly  interested  in  my 


AMONG   THE       CONTRABANDS.  29I 

work  and  afterwards  gave  me  much  needed  help  in  getting 
scholars  into  the  school  and  in  putting  things  into  shape. 
After  the  school  was  under  way  he  attended  when  he  had 
time,  took  a  lively  interest  in  it,  and  was  always  ready  to 
give  help  whenever  it  was  needed.  And  he  was  careful  to 
tell  the  colored  people  whom  he  met  that  "the  minister  from 
the  north"  would  preach  on  Sabbath  at  the  church  specified. 
With  such  a  voluntary  helper  it  was  easy  to  open  the  mission 
school;  and  this  opened  the  way  for  labor  as  a  spiritual 
teacher  among  a  people  long  confined  in  the  dark  prison  of 
American  slavery. 

My  second  Sabbath  was  a  busy  day.  "At  9  o'clock  I 
went  to  the  Baptist  Church  to  see  the  Sabbath-school  for 
colored  people  now  under  the  self-appointed  superintendence 
of  Mr.  McCrea.  There  were  sixty  or  seventy,  old  and 
young,  taught  by  soldiers  and  in  about  fifteen  classes.  As 
there  were  many  other  soldiers  present  Mr.  McCrea  formed 
them  into  a  large  Bible  class  and  asked  me  to  hear  them. 
I  did  so,  and  found  among  them  some  quite  intelligent  and, 
I  hope,  pious  men.  It  gave  me  pleasure  to  speak  to  so 
many  men  so  far  from  home,  on  the  love  of  Christ. 

"At  loo'clock,  according  to  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Browne 
who  expected  to  be  away,  I  preached  in  the  Episcopal 
Church  to  a  congregation  of  colored  people  who  probably 
for  the  first  time  sat  in  the  pews.  In  the  gallery  were  many 
soldiers,  one  or  two  hundred.  Of  the  colored  people  there 
were  about  the  same  number.  No  public  notice  had  been 
given,  but  the  people  were  assembled  by  the  eiForts  of  Tarquin 
Cohen,  my  good  friend,  the  deacon.  Preaching  from  the 
text,  'Jesus  wept,'  I  taught  that  he  though  now  in  heaven 
sympathizes  with  us  in  all  our  afflictions.  The  colored  peo- 
ple were  exceedingly  attentive  and  some  of  them  were 
affected  to  weeping.  No  wonder.  I  felt  that  it  was  good 
to  be  there:     I  pray  God  to  give  me  access  to  the  hearts  of 


292  I.OOKING    BACK    FROM    THK    SUNSET    LAND. 

this  people  that  I  may  win  them  to  Christ  and  help  to  com- 
fort them  in  their  afflictions." 

At  the  above-mentioned  meeting  an  incident  oc.  urred  that 
I  do  not  find  in  my  diary.  I  have  mentioned  before  that 
General  Stevens,  now  in  command  of  the  brigade  at  Beaufort, 
was  a  southerner  and  of  course  had  the  southern  prejudice 
against  the  negroes.  As  the  chaplain  of  the  "Round-heads" 
had  been  preaching  in  the  old  Episcopal  Church  it  is  probable 
that  the  general  expected  Dr.  Browne  to  be  there  that  day, 
or  he  may  have  heard  that  another  would  preach  in  the 
chaplain's  absence.  Shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the 
services,  probabl)'  when  I  was  reading  the  Scriptures,  General 
Stevens,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  her  arm  resting  on 
his,  entered  the  church.  When  they  had  walked  about  half 
way  up  the  broad  aisle  he  looked  around  over  the  church  and 
saw  the  colored  people  sitting  in  the  pews,  they  paused  and 
for  a  few  moments  surveyed  the  situation,  and  then  quickly 
turned  about  and  walked  out  of  the  church.  This  new  order 
of  things  was  too  much  for  the  brigadier-general.  But  if 
any  one  was  culpable  it  was  the  preacher  who  previously  had 
requested  the  "deacon,"  Tarquin  Cohen,  to  say  to  his 
fellow  "contrabands"  that  the  northern  missionary  wished 
them  to  occupy  the  bod}^  pews  as  the  preaching  would  be  for 
them.  And  j-et  more  than  half  the  pews  were  empty,  and 
there  was  room  for  a  hundred  generals  if  they  wished  to 
worship  and  hear  the  Gospel. 

"At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  at  the  invitation  of  Mr. 
McCrea  I  preached  in  the  African  Baptist  Church  to  a 
dense  congregation  from  the  words,  '  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 
How  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  to  preach  Christ  and  him 
crucified  to  this  people.  They  seem  to  drink  in  the  truth, 
and  their  piet}^  seems  so  earnest.  At  the  close  of  the 
services  when  many  crowded    around  me  and   pressed  mj^ 


AMONG   THE    "CONTRABANDS.  293 

hand  so  warmly,  and  spoke  so  earnestly  about  the  cross  of 
Christ,  and  blessed  me  for  speaking  such  comforting  words, 
I  felt  repaid  a  thousand  times  for  all  my  trouble  and  expense 
in  coming  here.  May  God  bless  ray  labors  among  this  poor 
and  docile  people,  that  I  may  be  largely  instrumental  in 
their  instruction,  elevation,  and  salvation." 

"At  7:30  o'clock  I  went  to  the  'tabernacle,'  an  old 
church  now  used  for  a  'praise  house,'  where  was  an  evening 
service.  It  was  to  have  been  conducted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Peck, 
1  think;  he  was  not  there,  however,  and  Mr.  McCrea  took 
his  place.  He  called  on  me  to  speak.  I  spoke  to  the  peo- 
ple, all  colored,  from  the  words,  'lyCt  us  go  on  unto  perfec- 
tion.' Some  of  them  are  wonderfully  gifted  in  prayer. 
Their  religion  seems  so  warm,  so  devout,  and  their  faith  so 
simple." 

Before  copying  any  more  from  my  diary  it  is  due  to  the 
reader  that  I  explain  the  situation  of  affairs  at  Beaufort. 
On  the  landing  of  the  Union  fleet  in  the  Port  Royal  harbor 
and  on  French  Island,  the  night  following  the  entire  white 
population  fled  into  the  mainland  leaving  almost  everything 
behind.  Nearly  the  entire  slave  population  remained. 
When  I  reached  Beaufort  there  were  four  regiments  in 
possession  of  the  island,  their  headquarters  in  the  city. 
Beaufort  had  been  the  home  of  many  rich  slaveholders  who 
owned  large  cotton  plantations  on  that  and  adjacent  islands; 
and  it  had  been  the  summer  resort  of  many  who  lived  on 
the  mainland.  The  churches  and  county  buildings  and 
arsenal  were  all  held  by  the  military  for  the  government. 
I  was  to'd  by  one  of  the  soldiers  who  took  possession  that  at 
the  time  of  the  hegira  only  one  white  man  remained  in 
Beaufor',  "but  he  was  so  drunk  he  could  not  get  away." 

The  four  regiments  or  brigade  in  camp  in  or  around  the 
city  were  the  Pennsylvania  One  Hundredth,  the  New  York 
Sixty-ninth,  the  Michigan  Eighth,  and  another  I  have  now 


294     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

forgotten.  In  addition  there  was  a  Connecticut  Battery 
Company.  Some  companies  from  these  regiments  were  sent 
to  outposts  to  intercept  the  rebel  forces  in  case  the}-  should 
attempt  to  cross  any  of  the  tide  rivers  that  surrounded  the 
islands.  This  brigade,  or  any  regiment  of  it,  was  liable  to 
be  removed  at  any  time  and  others  sent  into  quarters  there. 
Thus  it  was  that  some  of  the  regiments  with  their  chaplains 
could  meet  occasionall}-  or  regularly  in  some  of  the  vacated 
churches  for  worship.  The  thousands  of  contrabands  were 
under  military  control  and  martial  law,  but  they  and  the 
few  free  blacks  in  the  city  were  not  prevented  from  attend- 
ing the  churches  or  mission  schools  now  being  opened, 
though  all  had  to  be  at  home  or  in  their  quarters  by  nine 
o'clock  at  night  or  be  liable  to  be  locked  up,  or  kept  under 
guard  until  morning.  And  this  martial  law  included  all 
persons  within  the  picket  lines.  Prior  to  the  hegira  there 
had  been  four  white  churches,  the  Baptist,  much  the  largest 
or  most  numerous,  then  the  Episcopal,  the  Methodist,  and 
the  Catholic  the  least  of  all.  Among  the  slaves  there  had 
been  one  or  two  Baptist  Churches,  one  very  large,  and  one 
Episcopal;  I  think  the  Methodists  had  none.  As  to  schools, 
I  think  there  had  been  two  for  the  whites,  one  a  kind  of 
parochial  Episcopal  school,  and  judging  from  the  buildings, 
what  remained  of  them,  they  both  were  small.  Of  course 
there  had  been  no  school  for  the  black  people.  If  they  had 
souls  at  all  it  was  not  allowable  to  educate  them.  A  "nigger" 
was  presumed  to  have  no  need  of  a  spelling-book;  and  in 
most  of  the  southern  states  the  laws  forbade  the  teaching  of 
slaves  to  read;  the  penalty  in  some  was  death.  And  I  pre- 
sume that  among  all  the  many  thousands  of  slaves  on  those 
South  Carolina  sea  islands  there  was  not  one  who  could 
read  intelligently.  Yet  the  great  mass  of  them  were  pro- 
fessing Christians  of  some  kind.  On  Ladies'  Island,  across 
the  river  from  Beaufort,  there  had  been  thousands  of  planta- 


AMONG   THE    "CONTRABANDS."  295 

tion  slaves.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  Baptists.  A  large 
proportion  of  them  were  at  one  time  owned  by  Dr.  Richard 
Fuller,  pastor  of  the  Beaufort  Baptist  Church,  afterwaids  a 
pastor  in  Baltimore. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

The;  Spelling-Book,  the  Bible,  the  Sword. 

"Monday,  April  17th.  This  has  been  a  very  busy  day. 
At  9  o'clock  I  met  with  the  colored  people  in  the  Baptist 
Church  to  organize  a  school.  The  house  was  nearly  half 
full.  Some  could  spell  in  two  or  three  letters;  some  could 
name  the  letters  of  the  alphabet;  and  many  did  not  know 
any  of  them.  I  have  found  only  one,  an  old  man,  who  can 
read  any  at  all.  Two  or  three  could  make  out  easy  portions 
of  Scripture  that  they  have  often  heard,  for  on  some  of  the 
plantations  some  kinds  of  missionary  preachers  were  em- 
ployed by  Christian  planters,  but  they  can  not  read.  Many 
have  been  trying  to  learn  their  letters.  Some  of  the  soldiers, 
Christians,  and  some  connected  with  the  quartermaster's 
department,  have  been  teaching  the  slaves  since  the  army 
came  here. 

"Thus  a  wonderful  change  has  taken  place.  Many  are 
now  anxious  to  learn.  I  divided  the  whole  number  into 
three  divisions,  men,  women,  and  children,  intending  to 
hear  them  separately.  At  2  o'clock  I  met  with  a  class  at 
the  Episcopal  school  or  lecture-room,  and  made  similar 
arrangements.  Then  at  night,  6  o'clock,  at  the  Baptist 
'praise  house'  I  met  with  a  large  class  of  men — strong 
workingmen — employed  at  hard  work  until  5  o'clock:  and 
O!  how  eager  they  are  to  learn!  " 

"Tuesday  18.  Have  moved  my  quarters.  Since  I  came 
to  Beaufort  I  have  been  lodging  with  Rev.  Dr.  Browne  at 
Colonel  lycasure's  headquarters.  Yesterday  I  procured  a 
( 296 ) 


THE   SPEIvUNG-BOOK,   THE    BIBLE,   THE   SWORD.         297 

new  lodging-place — a  room  in  a  house  formerly  owned  and 
occupied  by  Colonel  Johnston,  a  leading  politician,  candi- 
date for  governor,  but  who  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Bull 
Run,  Virginia.  Having  no  fixtures  for  keeping  house,  I 
have  had  great  trouble  in  finding  anything  to  eat  or  sleep 
on.  Through  the  kindness  of  a  colored  family,  however,  I 
have  been  favored  much.  Through  Mr.  Jacob  Robinson, 
whose  wife  is  very  pleasant  and  kind,  I  am  to  be  provided 
with  my  meals.  I  have  a  straw  bed  on  which  to  sleep,  a 
chair  on  which  to  sit,  and  my  colored  waiter,  Mr.  Robinson's 
little  son,  brings  my  meals  on  a  large  salver.  I  find  the 
provisions  and  Mrs.  Robinson  cooks  for  me  for  a  dollar  and 
a  quarter  per  week." 

"Thursday  night,  20th.  Dark  clouds  hang  over  my  pros- 
pects. I  thought  my  school  was  about  to  be  a  success.  So 
many  have  been  crowding  in  and  so  anxious  to  learn  I  have 
been  happy  in  the  prospect  of  doing  good.  But  the  mili- 
tary power  here  is  absolute  and  is  exercised  mostly  for  the 
prevention  of  any  benevolent  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  colored 
people.  Last  night  the  soldiers  crowded  in  and  prevented 
me  from  teaching  the  night  school.  I  could  have  no  redress. 
I  had  done  all  in  my  power  to  procure  the  exclusive  use  of 
the  house.  This  morning  I  laid  the  case  before  the  provost- 
marshal.  To-night  he  called  on  me  to  inform  me  that  I 
could  not  have  the  house  at  night,  and  that  the  colored  peo- 
ple would  not  be  allowed  to  worship  there  but  must  be  kept 
in  their  own  quarters.  This  will  prevent  me  from  preach- 
ing to  them  on  Sabbath  as  I  had  intended.  General  Stevens 
orders  positively  that  the  colored  people  shall  not  go  to  the 
church  where  whites  go — -that  they  must  never  worship 
together.  This  is  martial  law.  It  can  not  be  disobeyed; 
but  I  shall  protest  against  it,  here  and  elsewhere.  Jesus 
reigns,  and  these  wicked  men  in  power  will  not  always  have 
their  own  way.     The  Lord  rebuke  them!     There  seems  to 


298  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

be  a  determiuation  by  Stev^ens  and  others  to  compel  the 
poor  slaves  to  gather  their  own  straw  and  still  make  the 
bricks:" 

Rev.  Mr.  French,  the  Methodist  missionary,  bj^  this  time 
had  taken  possession  of  a  large  old  mansion,  vacated  by  some 
fleeing  slaveholder,  and  was  preaching  and  looking  after  the 
wants  of  the  poor  and  distributing  clothing  and  shoes  among 
them.  He  called  it  an  "Industrial  School."  The  aim  was 
high,  but  the  institution  could  not  accomplish  much  while 
the  people  were  all  in  confusion  under  military  control.  In 
his  work  he  was  assisted  by  several  3'oung  women  who  had 
gone  thither  with  him  from  the  north.  He  had  visited 
Smith's  plantation  on  the  Beaufort  River  about  four  miles 
below  the  town  and  found  there  a  field  that  needed  laborers; 
and  he  had  found  two  of  the  contrabands  who  wished  to  be 
married.  He  reported  the  case  to  me  and  urged  me  to  go  to 
attend  to  it,  as  he  had  promised  to  go  or  send  another  minis- 
ter. Glad  to  have  an  opportunity  to  get  out  into  the  country 
and  away  from  the  soldiers  and  picket  lines,  I  promised  to 
visit  Smith's  plantation.  Accordingly  I  find  the  following 
entry: 

"Saturday  22.  This  afternoon  I  obtained  a  horse  and 
rode  down  the  Port  Royal  and  through  several  plantations 
to  visit  the  John  J.  Smith  plantation.  Here  are  more  than 
a  hundred  colored  people  living  in  eight  small  houses.  My 
time  being  limited  I  could  do  little  with  them.  I  visited 
their  church  but  I  have  not  descriptive  powers  to  do  it  justice. 

"I  have  been  told  that  the  master  was  a  Methodist,  that 
his  slaves  had  been  brought  up  Baptists,  that  they  wanted 
to  be  Baptists  but  the  master  would  not  allow  them,  and  so 
they  were  mostly  Methodists.  This  house  may  therefore  be 
called  a  South  Carolina  Methodist  Colored  Church. 

"It  is  about  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  square,  or  possiblj'  more. 
Its  windows  are  small  holes  in  the  house,  without  glass — 


the;  spe^llinc-book,  the;  bible,  the  sword.       299 

never  had  any— but  with  rough  shutters.  It  has  no  floor, 
the  ground  being  covered  with  straw.  The  pulpit  is  as 
strange  a  piece  of  mechanism  as  the  house.  I  can  not 
describe  it.  I^eft  an  appointment  to  preach  at  this  place 
to-morrow  at  10:30,  and  promised  to  marry  a  couple." 

"Sabbath  evening,  23.  To-night  I  am  weary,  and  yet  1 
am  joyous.  I  hope  my  labor  to-day  has  not  been  in  vain  in 
the  lyord.  I  walked  this  morning  to  the  Smith  plantation, 
visited  yesterday,  and  preached  to  the  people  living  there. 
The  house  was  full  of  men  and  women,  no  children.  They 
were  pretty  well  dressed.  I  noticed  the  children  about  the 
houses  were  ragged  and  dirty.  I  presume  the  want  of 
clothing  was  the  reason  of  their  absence  from  meeting, 
though  it  may  have  been  from  custom  or  for  want  of  room. 
The  people  were  very  attentive  and  evidently  devout.  I  read 
the  psalms,  starting  the  tunes;  and  nearly  all  the  people 
joined  in  the  singing.  I  addressed  them  on  the  sympathy  of 
our  Saviour.  I  felt  that  it  was  good  to  be  there.  Until  last 
Sabbath  they  had  not  had  any  preaching  since  the  rebels  left, 
for  more  than  six  months  at  least.  At  the  close  of  the  serv- 
ices I  invited  the  couple  to  be  married  forward  to  the  desk. 
They  came,  well  dressed,  neat,  clean,  she  quite  tastily.  I 
took  the  occasion  to  speak  of  marriage  as  a  divine  institution 
never  to  be  broken  up  except  by  death,  and  bore  a  full  testi- 
mony against  the  separation  of  husband  and  wife  by  masters. 
I  married  them  on  Sabbath  not  of  choice  but  because  under 
all  the  circumstances  I  thought  it  best.  The  arrangements 
had  all  been  made  for  the  marriage  before  they  knew  who 
would  preach  there  and  not  knowing  that  they  could  be 
married  at  any  other  time.  And  as  there  has  been  so  little 
legal  marriage  among  the  slaves  I  was  glad  to  have  the 
opportunity  to  celebrate  a  marriage  among  them.  Their 
names  are  Moses  Wallace  and  Pattie  Wright.  Before  I  left, 
a  piece  of  very  fine  wedding  cake  was  sent  to  me.     May  the 


300  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

God  of  the  poor  bless  this  new  couple  and  the  curse  of  slavery- 
soon  be  swept  from  the  earth." 

Returning  to  town,  I  preached  in  the  Episcopal  Church  at 
2:30  to  the  soldiers,  the  Seventj'-ninth  New  York  Regiment 
being  there  in  a  bod}"  and  b)-  special  arrangement.  The  band, 
the  softer  instruments  only,  led  the  music,  most  of  the  soldiers 
joining  in  the  .singing.*  They  sang  old  tunes;  Old  Hundred, 
Devizes  and  Balerma.  I  preached  with  freedom  from  Heb. 
2:3,  "How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation?' ' 

"Monday  24.  Busily  employed  in  teaching  and  organiz- 
ing classes.  By  the  order  of  the  military  power  here  I  have 
had  to  change  the  place  of  instruction.  I  am  now  teaching 
in  the  Methodist  Church  during  the  day,  and  at  night  in 
what  had  been  a  billiard  saloon.  I  have  called  to  my  aid 
MissMena  Hale,  a  j-oung  lady  from  Boston."  She  was  one 
of  the  teachers  who  had  come  with  Rev.  Mr.  French  to  assist 
him  in  his  work.  As  I  was  in  urgent  need  of  help  in  the 
school,  at  my  request  he  "detailed"  her  to  give  me  the 
needed  assistance. 

The  school  continued  to  grow  in  numbers  and  became 
more  regular  in  attendance  so  that  I  had  to  draw  on  Mr. 
French  for  two  more  teachers,  Miss  Powell  of  Philadelphia 
and  Miss  Wight  of  New  York. 

I.  do  not  now  remember  to  what  church  these  teachers 
belonged;  most  probabh^  they  were  Methodists;  but  I  re- 
member that  they  were  in  full  sympathy  with  the  slaves  and 
were  enthusiastic  teachers.  I  opened  each  half  day's  .session 
with  prayer  and  brief  Scripture  reading,  always  inculcating 
some  truth  or  dut}^  that  I  knew  the  people  needed.  Pre- 
sumably the  .slaves  were  mostly  Christians  or  members  of 
some  of  the  churches,  but  at  first  I  knew  almost  nothing  as 
to  their  denominational  preference.  Nor  did  I  care  much. 
With  slight  exceptions  thej'  all  were  not  only  unable  to  read 

*  I  had  distributed  psalm-books  among  them. 


the;  vSpkivUng-book,  thk  bible,  tiik  .sword.     301 

but  were  very  ignorant  except  as  to  common  matters  that 
needed  no  books.  Though  the  entire  school  was  divided 
into  three  parts  or  divisions,  some  of  them  came  to  all  the 
sessions.  Much  of  the  teaching  was  done  in  concert,  e.  g., 
the  alphabet,  in  large  letters,  was  hung  on  the  wall  before 
the  class  so  that  all  could  see  and  learn,  the  teacher  using 
the  pointer.  I  hnd  taken  with  me  from  Philadelphia  a  large 
supply  of  spellers.  These  w^ere  given  out  free,  one  to  each 
scholar.  After  the  letters  had  been  learned  the  whole  class 
would  sit  together  and  spell  the  same  lesson.  In  this  way 
much  was  done  in  short  time.  I  had  taken  also  a  large  lot 
of  the  Bible  reader.  The  system  was  called  '  word  reading. ' ' 
The  words,  arranged  promiscuously  in  perpendicular  lines, 
were  learned  first,  never  spelled;  and  on  the  opposite  page 
these  words  were  arranged  into  sentences  and  then  read. 
One  class,  some  of  them  women  but  mostly  men  who  had  not 
known  the  letters,  learned  in  three  or  fovir  weeks  to  read 
these  numerous  portions  of  Scripture  easily. 

Desirous  of  making  more  explorations  and  getting  all 
needed  information,  on  Saturday  the  29th,  I  took  passage  on 
a  little  yacht  down  the  river  to  Hilton  Head.  It  was  a 
pleasant  sail  but  the  sights  on  the  islands  were  doleful — 
plantations  abandoned  and  planters'  mansions  vacated.  A 
curse  seemed  to  rest  upon  the  land.  The  boatmen  pointed 
out  a  blackened  plantation  on  which  the  owner,  when  the 
Yankees  were  coming,  set  fire  to  his  cotton  crop  to  prevent 
it  from  falling  into  their  hands.  In  the  conflagration  the 
planter's  house  had  caught  fire  and  nothing  was  left  visible 
but  a  long  black  chimne5^  It  stood  alone  like  a  black 
monument  of  God's  wrath. 

Ivanding  at  Hilton  Head  I  called  upon  a  Mr.  Boynton 
engaged  in  teaching  the  contrabands,  and  upon  superin- 
tendent lyce,  who  as  a  government  appointee  had  the  general 
oversight  of  thetn.     From  both  I  received  important  infor- 


302  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

mation.  I  called  also  upon  George  W.  Smalley,  the  able 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  Horace  Greeley 
editor.  Mr.  Smalley  was  then  and  has  ever  since  shown 
himself  to  be  the  prince  of  journalistic  correspondents.  On 
his  table  I  saw  the  National  Standard,  the  organ  of  the 
National  Anti-slavery  Society  to  which  I  sent  occasional 
letters  during  my  stay  at  Beaufort.  Before  leaving  Hilton 
Head  I  met  a  slave  who  with  some  others  had  just  escaped 
from  Charleston  in  a  small  boat.  They  were  now  rejoicing 
in  the  hope  of  freedom.  While  I  remained  in  Beaufort 
companies  of  slaves  were  frequently  arriving  who  had 
stealthily  fled  from  the  mainland  hoping  that  the  Yankees 
would  not  return  them  to  their  masters. 

Returning  to  Beaufort  Saturday  evening  I  was  alone  and  a 
little  homesick  I  suppose  when  I  wrote  these  lines:  "I  have 
been  in  Beaufort  almost  three  weeks.  What  good  has  been 
accomplished  can  never  be  known  until  the  days  of  eternity. 
I  have  labored  in  anxiety  and  in  opposition  but  in  hope.  If 
I  can  be  only  a  humble  instrument  in  lifting  up  and  sus- 
taining these  poor  people  to  whom  God  has  sent  rae,  I  am 
sati.sfied.  Let  him  do  with  me  what  seemeth  him  good, 
only  let  me  see  of  the  travail  of  the  Redeemer's  soul." 

On  the  yacht  which  took  me  to  and  from  Hilton  Head 
was  a  colored  man,  a  servant  in  the  employ  of  the  owner. 
Robert  and  his  wife  and  children  had  been  the  propertj'  of 
Rev.  Walker,  the  rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Beau- 
fort— house  servants  in  the  minister's  family.  On  his  flight 
at  the  approach  of  the  Union  Army  the  rector  would  have 
taken  all  the  famil)^  servants  if  he  could,  but  Robert  pre- 
ferred to  risk  the  Yankees  and  would  not  go.  The  minister 
compelled  the  wife  and  children  to  go  with  him,  leaving 
the  husband  and  father  alone. 

On  the  Friday  evening  before  my  visit  to  Hilton  Head 
two  colored  men  called  upon  me.     One,  an  old  man,  had 


THE   SPELLING-BOOK,    THE    BIBLE,    THE   SWORD.       303 

just  come  from  the  mainland  having  escaped  from  his 
master.  The  other,  John  Middleton,  told  me  his  history 
in  part.  I  made  the  following  record  of  it:  "He  had 
passed  through  several  hands,  his  last  lawful  owner  being 
a  widow  lady.  She  desired  to  emancipate  her  slaves,  but 
the  laws  not  allowing  it,  when  she  died  she  gave  them 
into  the  charge  of  a  friend,  as  her  executor  and  their 
guardian  to  manage  or  take  care  of  them  as  free.  This 
man  controlled  them  until  his  death,  after  which  these 
slaves  were  divided  by  law  among  his  heirs.  John  was 
thus  held  as  a  slave  by  his  new  master  until  the  Rebellion. 
His  master  fled  but  could  not  take  him  with  him.  John 
preferred  to  try  the  Yankees.  He  did  not  believe  the  story 
told  him  that  they  would  sell  them  to  Cuba.  His  wife 
and  children  belonged  to  another  master  who  at  the  flight 
took  them  away,  thus  leaving  poor  John  without  wife  and 
children.  He  don't  expect  ever  to  see  them  again.  He 
told  me  that  he  was  a  carpenter — that  his  master  gave 
him  his  own  time,  allowing  him  to  make  as  much  money 
at  his  trade  as  he  could.  He  had  to  pay  his  master  five 
dollars  per  week  and  find  his  own  board.  Out  of  the 
wages  left  he  had  to  buy  many  things  for  his  wife  and 
children  whom  their  master  only  partly  supplied.  This 
same  man  is  very  intelligent.  He  needs  no  instruction  as 
to  the  evil  of  slavery.  He  has  no  high  opinion  of  tke 
slaveholders.  He  is  anxious  to  go  north,  and  said  he 
would  like  to  go  with  me.  He  is  one  of  my  class  in 
spelling,  a  good  fellow,  a  Baptist." 

Middleton  afterwards  came  to  see  me  several  times  before 
I  left  Beaufort.  He  was  very  anxious  to  come  north  with 
me;  and  I  would  have  brought  him  if  the  governmental 
agent  had  not  refused  to  give  him  leave  to  depart  (see  a 
subsequent  page).  As  I  learned  from  a  friend  in  Beaufort 
long    after    the    war,    John    Middleton,    when    the   military 


304  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

department  of  the  government  had  been  driven  to  the 
necessity  of  accepting  the  service  of  colored  men  as  sol- 
diers, joined  the  Union  Army,  was  a  brave  warrior,  and 
fell  in  battle. 

"Saturday  evening,  9  o'clock.  A  poor  colored  man, 
Abraham  Jenkins,  called  on  me  to-night  to  get  a  book. 
He  was  the  slave  of  William  Adams  who  lived  in  the 
interior.  On  the  taking  of  Port  Royal  Island  by  the 
Federals  he  fled  from  his  master  and  succeeded  in  getting 
his  wife  and  children  with  him.  He  was  a  Baptist.  So 
was  his  master.  His  master  sometimes  had  prayers  in  the 
house  but  never  had  any  of  his  slaves  in.  He  said  his 
master  would  flog,  'almost  cut  up,'  some  of  his  servants 
on  Sabbath  morning  and  then  go  to  church.  He  had  even 
seen  him  flog  and  then  lock  them  up  in  some  house  as 
prisoners  and  then  go  to  church.  'Was  your  master  a 
good  man?'  'Don't  know,  sir;  he  was  awful  cruel  to 
his  servants,  sir.'  'Was  he  not  a  Christian?'  'Don't 
know,  sir;  he  belonged  to  church,  sir,  but  don't  know  as 
he  had  any  religion,  sir;  but  he  cut  us  up  terrible,  sir: 
and  he  t'ink  nothing  of  sellin'  de  husband  from  de  wife, 
and  de  child'n  from  de  fadder  and  modder.  Sir.'  Poor 
Abraham  had  never  seen  the  guilt  of  slavery  except  in  its 
cruelties." 

Military  law  is  iron- clad.  After  numerous  annoyances 
and  hindrances  while  trying  to  get  a  permanent  place  for 
the  mission  school  and  for  preaching,  in  obedience  to  Gen- 
eral Steven's  orders  I  took  possession  of  the  Methodist 
Church  across  the  town  from  the  larger  Baptist  Churches. 
On  the  Sabbath  after  the  events  recorded  above,  in  accord- 
ance with  previous  announcement  in  the  school,  I  preached 
at  1 1  o'clock  to  a  small  congregation  of  colored  people,  not 
more  than  fifty  or  sixty.  Indeed,  it  was  a  wonder  that  so 
many  were  present.     That  house  had  never  been  used  by 


THE  SPELLING-BOOK,    THE   BIBLE,    THE  SWORD.        JOS 

colored   people.     There   had   been  very  few  Methodists  in 
he     own    Tnd   the  few  white   Methodists  who  had  wor- 
shped   there  were  now  all  gone.      As 'the  smallpox  wa 
p  elding  in  the  city  many  of  the  colored  people  were  sen 
out  to  the  plantations;  and  the  picket  guar  s  would  not  le 
any  of  the  contrabands  pass  through  the  hues.     But  as  I 
had  often  preached  to  much  smaller  congregations  it  was 
naa  one"  f  slaves  all   anxious 

not  difBcult  to  preach  to  fifty  or  sixty  slaves 
to  hear  the  new  Gospel.     The  text  was:      Follow  holiness 
without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."     As  always  I 
7ead  out  the  lines  of  the  psalm.     They  all  seemed  to  sing 
Tnd  especially  the  psalm  after  the  discourse  they  .^ang  with 
git  pathos   and   power.     Wonderful   "-the  singing  of 
fhe   plantation  slaves  whose  souls  were  saddened   by   the 
tne   piau  comine  out  of  the  church 

woes  of  oppression.     As  I  was  coming  o 
an  old  lady  took  my  hand  and  said  to  me       O  snl^-s^ 
very  sorry,  very  low  down  dis  morn.n'   before  I  c-me 
church-  but  you  built  me  right  up,  bless  de  Lord  ! 

Icco'rding  to  the  appointment  made  at  the  Methodls^ 
Church  in  the  forenoon  service,  I  went  back  at  7  0  c  oc*. 
to  preach.  To  my  astonishment  I  found  the  house  full  of 
soldiers  mostly  of  the  Michigan  Eighth,  whose  chaplain  also 
was  present.  The  colored  people  were  coming  and  going 
Tond'ering  what  it  meant.  This  was  another  of  the  many 
trials  we  had  to  endure  under  military  controh  But  as  I 
was  there  I  did  not  choose  to  run  away  in  haste.  Ihe 
rhaplain  who  had  not  known  that  General  Stevens  had 
assigned  the  house  to  our  use,  expressed  his  regrets  and 
asked  me  to  address  the  soldiers,  which  I  did  briefly  from 
the  words,  "Leaving  us  an  example."  and  exhorted  them 
to  take  Jesus  for  their  model. 

"Monday  morning,  March  3..  The  first  sound  I  heard 
this  morning  upon  awakening  was,  as  often,  the  ctap  or 
song  of  the  red-bird.     He  is  my  morning  crower.     He  sits 


20 


3o6     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

among  the  shrubbery  right  under  my  window  and,  as  soon 
as  the  morning  light  appears,  in  his  cheerful  and  stirring 
notes  he  says:  'Awake,  arise,  behold  the  day!'  Does  he 
not  call  me  to  the  praise  of  God?  Should  not  my  heart 
be  as  joyful  in  this  service  as  is  the  morning  song  of  the 
bird?" 

"Monday  evening.  The  school  was  fuller  to-day  than 
usual.  Called  on  General  Stevens  to  ask  leave  to  u.se  a 
small  vacant  house  for  two  of  my  classes.  He  is  a  gen- 
tleman in  manners  but  he  has  no  smile  for  any  one  he 
meets.  He  walked  with  me  to  see  the  house  and  then 
promised  to  send  me  word  in  the  afternoon  whether  or  not 
I  could  have  the  house.  It  is  now  9  o'clock  but  I  have 
no  word  yet." 

"Wednesday,  April  3.  Had  several  visitors  at  the  school 
to-da}'.  Among  others  was  a  drunken  soldier  from  the 
New  York  Sixty-ninth  Regiment.  He  did  not  believe  in 
teaching  'darkies.'  He  said  we  were  only  preparing  a 
people  to  cut  our  throats.  He  had  been  an  old  Whig,  a 
member  of  the  state  Legislature,  a  lawyer,  and  a  Mason; 
and  in  the  u^e  of  profane  language  he  was  profu.se." 

"Went  to  see  a  sick  woman,  Jenny,  who  had  fled  with 
her  children  from  her  master  in  the  interior.  She  lay 
concealed  three  weeks  in  the  marsh  and  rain  and  cold, 
and  soon  after  reaching  Beaufort  she  sickened  and  has 
been  sick  for  three  months.  She  left  everything  behind 
in  her  flight.  She  has  four  or  five  children.  The  oldest 
son  is  at  work  for  the  government  and  draws  rations  for 
himself.  Upon  this  he,  his  mother  and  his  brothers  and 
sisters  have  lived  for  months.  When  Miss  Wight,  my 
assistant  teacher,  found  her  she  was  lying  on  the  floor, 
with  no  bed  under  her,  and  nothing  but  rags,  pieces  of  a 
blanket,  to  cover  her,  and  almost  dying  of  hunger.  I 
conversed  with  her  and  found  her  a  great  sufferer.     She 


THE   SPELLING-BOOK,    THE   BIBLE,    THE   SWORD.        307 

had  worn  a  heavy  yoke.  The  iron  had  sunk  deep  into 
her  soul.  Her  master  had  been  awfully  cruel;  but  'missus 
was  far  worse. '  I  asked  her  if  her  master  would  not  pro- 
vide for  her  now  in  her  sickness  if  she  were  back  with  him. 
She  seemed  to  think  I  had  come  to  have  her  taken  back, 
or  my  words  galled  her  soul  and  she  said  with  tremulous 
voice  almost  like  that  of  a  dying  woman:  'Don't  carry  me 
back,  massa;  don't  carry  me  back.  I'd  rather  go  to  my 
grave  thi.->  minute.  Carry  me  to  my  grave,  massa;  but 
don't  carry  me  back  to  my  ole  massa.  I  nebber  wants  to 
see  him  again.'  Poor  Jenny!  My  soul  was  moved  for 
her.  I  hope  her  master  will  never  see  her  unless  he  repent 
of  his  wrongs  done  to  poor  Jenny.  Said  I,  'Jenny,  was 
your  master  a  Christian.'  '  He  went  to  church,  sir.' 
'Did  you  go  to  church?'  'When  he  would  let  us  go, 
sir.'  'Can  you  pray,  Jenny?'  'I  can  pray  inside,  sir.' 
'Then  pray  to  God,  and  he  will  deliver  you;  and  I  hope 
your  master  will  never  own  you  again.  Be  patient  and 
pray  to  God  in  trouble,  and  he  will  save  you.  Trust  in 
him  and  he  will  deliver  you  at  last  in  heaven.' 

"On  inquiry  the  second  son,  a  young  boy  only,  told  me 
he  had  been  working  three  months  for  government  and 
had  not  received  a  single  dollar  yet.  My  soul  sickened 
as  I  turned  away  thinking  of  the  guilt  of  our  country  in 
so  long  protecting  the  awful  crime  and  curse  of  slavery." 

"Friday,  4.  A  little  boy  brought  me  a  beautiful  bouquet 
this  morning.  His  name  is  James  Simmons.  It  is  worth 
more  to  me  than  a  golden  eagle  from  a  lich  man:  it  is 
aflfection's  grateful  offering,  childhood's  token  of  regard, 
though  probably  a  mother's  heart  devised  and  a  parent's 
hand  shaped  the  gift." 

"Monday,  April  7th.  The  school  was  larger  to-day 
than  ever.  Had  to  call  in  the  aid  of  a  soldier  and  one 
of  the  pupils.     The  most  of  the  boys  are  very  ragged  and 


308  IvOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE   .SUNSET   LAND. 

dirty.  We  clothe  them  as  fast  as  we  can.  The  clothing 
is  all  used  up,  but  the  ladies  make  some  out  of  the  new 
material.  The  pupils,  young  and  old,  love  to  sing,  and 
they  learn  very  fast  and  sing  finely." 

"Tuesday,  8th.  Met  with  some  of  the  adults  of  the 
school  to-night  for  prayer.  About  fifteen  or  twenty  came. 
I  led  in  the  singing,  led  in  the  first  prayer,  read  and 
commented  upon  a  part  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Hebrews, 
and  especially  upon  verse  3:  'Remember  them  that  are 
in  bonds  as  bound,'  etc.  Two  others  led  in  prayer.  Such 
prayers  I  never  heard,  so  earnest,  so  expressive  of  faith,  so 
from  the  heart,  so  without  form,  so  appropriate.  They 
prayed  for  their  brethren  in  slavery,  for  their  relatives  lost 
and  in  slavery,  for  the  many  sick,  for  the  soldiers;  and 
most  earnestly  and  beautifully  for  me,  their  teacher;  also 
for  my  family,  asking  God  to  watch  over  them  and  keep 
them  in  health  and  peace.  They  prayed  for  my  health, 
and  thanked  God  most  devoutly  for  sending  me  to  them 
to  preach  and  to  teach  them  so  ignorant  and  needy.  One 
thanked  God  that  I  did  not  get  out  of  patience  with  them 
in  their  ignorance.  Every  manner  of  blessing  was  asked 
for  me.  O,  it  was  one  of  the  happiest  hours  of  my  life— 
to  be  in  a  prayer-meeting  of  slaves,  pupils  in  the  school, 
who  seemed  to  love  me  so  much  and  to  pray  so  earnestly 
for  me.  I  felt  that  Jesus  was  with  us  in  that  little  meeting 
to  bless  us  and  to  do  us  good." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

A  Little  Vacation.     Fort  Pulaski  Taken. 

For  about  a  week  prior  to  the  loth  of  April  I  had  been 
suffering  in  temporary  sickness  brought  about  partly  by  my 
unhealthy  mode  of  Hving,  and  this  beyond  my  control.  As 
the  town  was  wholly  under  military  law  and  without  any 
market,  and  with-  almost  no  provisions  except  as  needed  for 
the  army,  and  these  all  under  the  hand  of  the  Commissary 
Department,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  any  healthy 
food.  The  colored  woman  who  cooked  my  meals  and  sent 
them  to  me  by  her  half-grown  sons  was  anything  but  a 
connoisseur,  nor  did  she  know  the  value  of  soap.  Fasting 
was  sometimes  a  necessity.  I  had  many  a  daydream  of  the 
home  table  abundantly  covered  with  healthful  viands  pre- 
pared by  my  own  Yankee-girl  cook  now  far  away  in  the 
old  parsonage.  Meanwhile  I  was  overworked  by  constant 
labor  day  and  night  as  well  as  on  Sabbath.  These  two 
causes  combined  to  induce  me  to  follow  the  advice  of  Rev. 
Mr.  French  and  his  family  and  to  seek  health  in  a  few  days 
of  rest  from  the  school.  Obtaining  an  additional  assistant 
from  his  supply,  and  committing  the  school  to  the  women, 
on  Wednesday  afternoon  I  took  passage  on  a  boat  to  Hilton 
Head.  On  the  way  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  contra- 
band, Abraham  Mercheson,  who  had  escaped  from  Savan- 
nah, coming  in  a  skiff  by  night.  He  was  a  deacon  and  an 
exhorter  in  the  Baptist  Church.  As  his  wife  and  children 
belonged  to  another  master,  and  he  had  no  hope  of  seeing 
them  again  unless  the  Federal  armies  should  conquer  the 

(309) 


3IO  l^OOKING   BACK   FROM   THE;   SUNSET   LAND. 

south,  he  was  exceedingly  anxious  for  the  Union  Army  to 
take  Savannah.  At  this  time  Fort  Pulaski  was  under  siege 
by  the  Union  batteries  on  Tybee  Island.  Mr.  Mercheson, 
who  was  now  staying  at  Hilton  Head,  the  headquarters  of 
General  Hunter,  informed  me  that  the  general  had  declared 
his  purpose  to  arm  the  colored  men  and  muster  them  into 
companies  if  they  would  volunteer. 

Receiving  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Blake,  a  young  man  in 
charge  of  Elliot's  plantation  about  three  miles  from  Hilton 
Head,  to  visit  his  post  of  labor,  I  obtained  a  horse  and 
joined  him  in  a  ride  out  to  the  plantation.  It  was  growing 
dark  and  much  of  our  way  was  through  a  dense  pine  forest. 
We  had  to  pass  two  or  three  picket  lines,  and  so  had  to  get 
the  countersign  from  the  officer  at  Hilton  Head.  Coming 
up  to  the  guards,  one  on  each  side  of  the  road,  we  were 
accosted  with,  "Halt,  dismount."  We  obeyed  orders,  and 
the  guards,  coming  to  us  with  their  presented  guns,  said, 
"Give  the  countersign."  We  gave  it.  "All  right;  remount 
and  pass  on."  We  obeyed  orders  again.  I  had  often 
mounted  and  dismounted  my  own  horse  and  saddle,  but  to 
have  to  "dismount"  and  "remount"  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night  at  the  command  of  some  fellow  with  his  bayoneted 
musket  pointed  at  me,  was  a  new  experience.  It  was  moon- 
light, but  the  forest  was  so  dense  our  way  was  gloomy.  And 
all  was  still  and  silent  save  the  tread  of  our  horses  and  the 
mournful  sound  of  a  night-bird  like  the  whip-poor-will.  I 
could  not  forget  that  I  was  in  the  land  of  slaves  and  auc- 
tion-blocks and  lashes  and  bloodhounds,  and  that  probably 
in  this  same  old  pine  forest  the  hounds  may  have  been  in  hot 
pursuit  of  some  weary  fugitive  who  feared  the  master  or  the 
overseer  more  than  the  dogs;  and  a  kind  of  sickening  gloom 
came  over  me.  I  wished  I  were  back  in  my  own  free  and 
peaceful  mountain  home. 

That  night  I  slept  with  my  friend  on  an  old  board  bed- 


A   LiTTIvK   VACATION.       FORT    PULASKI   TAKEN.        3 II 

stead  on  which  was  a  corn-husk  mattress  extemporized  by 
Mr.  Blake.  I  had  left  Beaufort  tired  and  unwell  hoping  to 
get  rest  and  health  by  a  change.  I  did  not  sleep  much  on 
those  boards  softened  only  a  little  by  the  hard  husks. 
After  our  breakfast,  prepared  by  a  slave  mother  whom  her 
master  had  to  leave  behind  when  he  fled  before  the  northern 
guns,  I  sauntered  awhile  among  the  contrabands  out  in  the 
fields  preparing  to  plant  cotton.  These  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  work  were  under  the  hand  of  Mr.  Blake,  one 
of  the  superintendents  sent  by  the  Treasury  Department  at 
Washington  to  look  after  the  abandoned  plantations  and 
slaves.  I  had  formed  his  acquaintance  on  board  the  vessel 
coming  down  from  New  York.  He  had  been  a  student  in 
some  Massachusetts  institution.  He  was  a  member  of  some 
of  the  churches  there  and  I  suppose  anti-slavery,  but  he 
had  no  piety  to  spare,  and  he  was  not  fit  to  have  the  control 
of  the  colored  people,  for  he  ruled  them  with  rigor,  with  a 
pistol  in  his  pocket,  and  as  one  "clothed  with  a  little  brief 
authority"  whom  the  slaves  must  have  regarded  only  as  a 
new  overseer.  No  man  is  fit  to  be  a  ruler  over  laborers  who 
is  not  in  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  the  lowly. 

Spending  what  little  time  I  could  spare  among  the  con- 
trabands I  heard  some  sad  stories  from  their  own  lips.  I 
had  forgotten  them  long  ago,  but  on  opening  my  journal  at 
this  date  I  find  the  record  written  after  I  returned  next 
morning  to  Hilton  Head,  as  follows:  "Saw  an  old  man,  Eko, 
whose  father,  Cato,  had  been  brought  from  Africa  by  a  slave 
ship.  Kko  had  fled  with  his  family  from  the  mainland  and 
is  now  living  in  an  old  cotton  house  partitioned  off  into 
rooms  (?)  for  several  families.  The  fire  was  on  a  box  filled 
with  earth.  The  smoke  had  no  place  to  escape  except  at 
the  doors  and  cracks.  Several  were  sick.  No  wonder. 
In  this  same  group,  around  the  same  fire,  were  grandmother, 
mother  and  grandchildren.     The  youngest,  six  months  old, 


312  I^OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

was  laughing  in  its  mother's  arms,  unconscious  of  the  misery 
around  it  or  which  it  may  soon  know." 

"Friday  nth.  Last  evening  I  preached  in  Hilton  Head 
in  the  contrabands'  church  to  a  large  congregation  of  the 
contrabands,  mostly  men  and  women.  They  have  organ- 
ized themselves  into  a  Baptist  Church  and  have  chosen  a 
colored  man  as  pastor,  viz.  Abraham  Mercheson,  the  refugee 
slave  from  Savannah.  He  escaped  in  a  boat  leaving  his 
family  behind  and  hoping  to  get  them  away  yet.  The  people 
were  very  attentive  hearers,  many  of  them  nodding  assent 
at  different  places  in  the  discourse  with  an  appropriate 
ejaculation.  Lodged  last  night  in  a  room  occupied  by  Mr. 
Smalley,  the  N.  Y.   Tribune' s  Port  Royal  correspondent. 

"About  9  o'clock  this  morning,  in  company  with  Mr.  Lee, 
the  contraband  supervisor,  I  took  passage  on  the  Mattano, 
a  small  steamer,  for  Tybee  Island,  Ga.,  to  witness  the  battle 
going  on  there,  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Pulaski,  and  to 
recruit  my  health  by  a  trip  on  salt  water.  We  passed  up 
the  bay  or  Broad  River  and  through  Skull  Creek.  This  is  a 
narrow  river  or  passage  of  salt  water  between  Hilton  Head 
Island  on  the  east  and  Pinckney's  and  Dafuskey  on  the 
west.  On  each  side  of  the  river  are  plantations.  Some  of 
the  mansions  appear  well.  Some  seemed  large,  judging 
by  the  number  of  houses  in  the  negro  quarters.  I  noticed 
one  or  two  plantations  with  houses  enough  to  keep  three  or 
four  hundred. 

"Before  we  passed  the  southwestern  extremity  of  Hilton 
Head  Island  we  could  distinctly  see  Fort  Pulaski  and  the 
bombardment.  From  the  batteries  on  Tybee  Island  there 
was  a  busy  fire  upon  the  fort.  Our  boat  anchored  in  the 
bay  near  the  shore  of  Tybee,  a  short  distance  from  the  old 
lighthouse  and  the  old  French  fort.  Here  we  were  within  the 
range  of  the  rebel  guns  from  the  fort,  and  they  might  easily 
have  riddled  our  boat,  or  thrown  a  shell  into  her,  if  they 


A   LITTLE  VACATION.      FORT   PULASKI   TAKEN.        313 

had  chosen ;  but  they  were  too  busy  in  defending  themselves 
against  the  batteries  to  care  to  harm  us :  so  we  lay  at  anchor, 
though  in  a  stormy  sea,  and  witnessed  the  bombardment. 
Shells  and  shot  were  poured  in  upon  the  rebel  fort  with 
terrible  effect.  The  batteries  had  opened  fire  upon  them 
about  6  o'clock  Thursday  morning  and  continued  until 
2  P.  M.,  Friday.  By  Friday  morning  two  large  holes  were 
opened  into  the  fort,  and  these  were  increasing  in  mag- 
nitude. Through  these,  shells  might  soon  be  thrown  in  the 
direction  of  the  magazine.  At  2:30  the  rebel  flag  was  taken 
down,  and  immediately  the  white  flag  of  truce  floated  in  the 
breeze.  Now  the  firing  from  the  batteries  ceases.  Then 
General  Gilmour*  sends  over  (or  goes)  to  capitulate.  Then 
orders  come  from  General  Hunter,  on  board  the  McClelland 
at  anchor  off  Tybee,  to  our  boat  to  take  on  board  a  thousand 
troops  to  be  ready  to  man  the  fort.  Our  boat  now  goes  up  to 
the  north  or  upper  end  of  the  island  that  the  soldiers  may  em- 
bark. Now  yonder  goes  over  in  a  small  rowboat  or  scow,  a 
few  officers  bearing  the  Stars  and  Stripes  to  display  on  the 
captured  fort.  There!  they  are  up  on  the  flagstaff  where  not 
long  ago  was  the  rebel  flag.  After  much  difficulty,  owing  to 
adverse  wind  and  tide,  the  Connecticut  Seventh  Regiment, 
Colonel  Terry  commanding,  is  landed  on  the  island  on 
which  the  fort  stands.  By  the  invitation  of  Colonel  Terry 
Mr.  Ivce  and  I  joined  him  at  the  head  of  his  forces.  The 
regiment  marches  up  the  gangway  with  martial  music 
right  to  the  fort,  all  frowning  but  shattered  and  silent. 
The  moon,  about  full  orbed,  makes  all  light.  The  whole 
scene  was  most  peculiarly  romantic  and  yet  solemn.  When 
the  music  was  silent  all  was  silent.       Nothing  was  heard 

*  This  general,  in  command  on  Tybee  Island,  before  opening  fire 
on  the  fort  had  sent  over  a  demand  to  surrender.  Colonel  Olmstead, 
in  command  of  the  fort,  replied,  "We  are  here  to  defend  not  to  sur- 
render Fort  Pulaski." 


314  I^OOKING   BACK   FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

save  the  tramp  of  the  regiment  until  we  were  under  the 
shadow  of  Pulaski.  One  portion  of  the  regiment  was 
stationed  inside  the  fort,  and  one  bivouacked  outside  the 
entrance  but  within  the  moat.  In  company  with  the 
officers  we  passed  into  the  fort.  What  I  here  saw  I  can 
not  begin  to  describe.  Everj^where  were  to  be  seen  the 
effects  of  shot  and  shell.  One  of  the  men  taken  prisoner — 
an  officer  whose  name  I  do  not  remember — took  us  through 
the  fort  now  in  comparative  ruins,  and  showed  us  around  on 
the  parapet,  pointing  out  where  the  shot  and  shell  had  done 
the  greatest  execution.  Going  down  we  were  taken  into 
some  of  the  officers'  rooms  and  were  introduced  to  them. 
I  had  brief  conversation  with  some  of  them.  One  officer. 
Major  Walker,  was  a  very  fine-looking  man.  Into  the  room 
came  a  colored  man  bringing  water  to  the  officers.  I  took 
him  for  the  cook  and  followed  him  out  and  asked  him  for 
some  lunch,  for  I  had  not  had  supper  and  it  was  now  1 1  or  12 
o'clock  at  night.  Presently  he  took  me  into  the  kitchen  or 
dining-room  of  the  fort,  the  room  for  the  officers,  and  set 
before  me  a  dish  of  rice,  some  fine  cold  biscuit,  and  a  cup  of 
hot  coffee.  Being  very  hungry  I  relished  my  rebel  meal 
finely,  all  the  while  talking  with  Cczsar  (a  slave  of  a  Savan- 
nah master)  about  freedom,  etc.  I  improved  every  moment 
of  time  to  infuse  into  his  mind  what  slaveholders  would 
call  incendiary  doctrines.  Rising  from  the  table  I  handed 
him  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  with  thanks.  On  receiving  it  he 
smiled  and  said,  'That,  sir,  is  the  first  silver  I  have  seen 
for  six  months.'  I  will  never  forget  Caesar.  What  will 
become  of  him  now  ?  Will  the  United  States  Government 
be  so  base  as  to  ever  allow  him  to  be  a  slave  again?" 

Coming  out  of  the  fort  now  held  by  one  thousand  soldiers 
and  in  which  were  three  hundred  rebel  prisoners,  we  returned 
to  the  MattanodX  i  o'clock  in  the  night.  Here  I  witnessed  a 
scene  most  shameful.      The  officers   quarreled,   and   swore 


A   LITTLE  VACATION.      PORT   PULASKI   TAKEN.        315 

terribly.  On  board  the  boat  in  the  afternoon  they  had  been 
drunk,  some  unable  to  manage  themselves.  In  the  little  cabm 
of  the  boat  all  the  passengers  aboard  had  to  sleep.  I  lay  on 
the  seat  with  my  shawl  for  my  pillow,  close  beside  a  drunken, 
snoring  miUtary  officer,  Major  Hough.  I  scarcely  knew 
what  sleep  was.  In  the  morning  our  boat  steamed  down  to 
the  foot  of  Tybee  to  put  the  officers  on  board  the  McClelland 
to  report  to  General  Hunter.  So  rough  was  the  sea  that  our 
boat  was  almost  dashed  to  pieces  before  we  got  out  of  the 
dangerous  place  and  behind  the  island  of  Hilton  Head.  At 
Seabrook  I  came  aboard  the  Flora  and  came  back  to  Beau- 
fort,  Saturday  evening. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 
"What  Was  Slavery,  Uncle  Tom?" 

"Sabbath  13th.  Owing  to  my  absence  from  school  last 
week,  the  word  had  gone  abroad  among  the  colored  people 
that  I  was  away  and  would  not  preach.  On  going  to  the 
church  I  found  only  a  few  of  them  there.  Owing  to  the 
absence  of  the  chaplain  the  Connecticut  Battery  was  without 
preaching.  One  of  the  officers  came  and  invited  me  to 
preach  to  them.  I  assented.  They  were  soon  conducted 
into  the  church  in  military  order  and  I  preached  to  them 
from  James  1:12.  'Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temp- 
tation,' etc.  In  the  P.  M.  I  went  to  the  African  Baptist 
Church  and  on  the  invitation  of  Mr.  McCrea  preached  to  a 
large  congregation  of  colored  people  from  the  words  of  Jesus, 
'I  am  come  to  send  fire  on  the  earth,  and  what  will  I  if 
already  it  be  kindled?'  From  the  text  I  preached  such 
truths  respecting  slavery,  slaveholding  churches,  etc.,  as 
must  have  startled  the  people  who  have  long  heard  a  slave- 
holdijig  Gospel,  if  I  may  be  pardoned  the  use  of  such  a 
phrase.  Some  white  persons  present  who  belong  to  slave- 
holding  churches  may  have  been  as  much  dissatisfied  as  the 
negroes  were  astonished." 

During  the  week  following  that  Sabbath  I  was  very  busy 
in  the  school  and  looking  after  the  needy.  This  part  of  the 
work  was  more  than  I  could  do  as  I  had  no  help  nor  any 
place  where  to  store  the  boxes  of  clothing  and  shoes  sent 
from  the  north;  therefore  I  had  the  boxes  placed  under  the 
care  of  Mr.  French  at- his  home,  and  when  distribution  was 
made  he  gave  me  the  use  of  his  contraband  carriage  when 
(316) 


"what  was  slavery,  uncle  TOM?"  317 

one  of  the  women  would  accompany  me  to  give  out  clothing 
to  destitute  women  or  children.  Moreover,  as  I  had  consid- 
erable correspondence  with  friends  in  the  north  as  well  as 
with  the  inmates  of  the  parsonage,  and  an  occasional  letter 
to  the  National  Ayiti- Slavery  Sta7idard,  I  often  sinned  against 
myself  by  writing  in  the  hours  of  the  night  when  I  should 
have  been  sleeping.  Like  many  another  unwise  man  I  for- 
got the  word:   "For  so  He  giveth  his  beloved  sleep." 

Isaac  Middleton,  a  contraband  and  a  carpenter,  had  been 
working  for  the  government  for  two  months  and  had  received 
no  pay.  The  wa^es  was  fixed  by  the  government,  the  laborer 
having  no  voice.  He  had  been  attending  the  night  school 
from  the  first  and  became  very  anxious  to  go  north  with  me 
when  I  would  depart.  I  promised  to  be  his  friend  and  guide. 
He  told  me,  however,  that  he  could  not  go  unless  he  had  a 
permit  from  the  government  agent.  I  told  him  I  would  try 
to  get  his  permission.  I  went  to  Mr.  Broad  and  requested 
him  to  give  Isaac  Middleton  such  permit.  The  answer  was 
a  prompt  refusal.  He  said:  "No  one  is  permitted  to  leave 
under  any  circumstances  except  at  the  option  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  right  to  control  the  labor  of  the  negroes  is 
claimed  by  the  government.  We  can  not  regard  their  whims 
and  notions."  That  means  that  they  were  \h&  government' s 
slaves  for  the  time. 

On  the  1 8th  I  received  letters  from,  home  urging  me  to 
return  as  soon  as  possible  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  loved 
ones  at  home  but  on  account  of  the  condition  of  the  congre- 
gation because  of  my  long-continued  absence.  My  plans  to 
have  the  pulpit  supplied  at  least  part  of  the  time  had  not 
been  successful;  and  as  pastor  I  was  greatly  needed.  And 
so  I  resolved  to  respond  to  this  call  and  adjust  affairs  in  the 
mission  so  that  I  would  not  need  to  remain  much  longer. 

The  longer  I  remained  at  Port  Roj^-al  the  more  I  saw  of 
the   iniquity  of  American    slavery  and    the   duty  and    the 


3l8  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

necessity  of  speedy  and  universal  emancipation.  Every  day 
while  prosecuting  the  work  of  the  mission  I  became  cogni- 
zant of  new  illustrations  of  it  and  wrote  some  of  them  in  my 
journal,  though  not  with  the  expectation  of  ever  publishing 
them. 

"Saturday,  April  19.  Spent  most  of  the  day  in  distrib- 
uting clothing  among  the  poor.  Clothed  some  very  destitute 
children  and  old  people.  Visited  old  Toby's  hut,  and  such 
a  sight  I  never  saw.  His  master  had  run  away  leaving  him 
alone  in  his  little  house,  so  filthy  and  black.  His  dirty  bed 
lay  on  the  floor.  He  was  ragged  and  dirty  himself.  He 
told  us  he  had  no  way  to  get  his  bread  except  as  the  colored 
people  gave  it  to  him.  Thus  he  is  a  pauper  on  the  poor 
who  are  moneyless.  Distributed  Bibles  and  Testaments 
among  scholars  that  have  learned  to  read.  Called  on  the 
grandparents  of  little  John  Allen,  a  colored  boy  of  .'^even 
years  now  coming  to  school.  John's  parents  are  both  sold 
away,  one  in  Texas  and  the  other  no  one  knows  where. 
The  grandparents  have  no  hope  that  they  will  ever  be  heard 
from.  I  asked  leave  to  bring  John  north  with  me  to  adopt 
and  educate.  The  grandfather  assented,  but  the  grand- 
mother said  she  could  not  part  with  him.  He  was  the  only 
one  to  comfort  her.  The  driver  had  taken  away  the  father, 
then  the  mother,  her  own  daughter;  and  now  she  could  not 
part  with  John.  He  is  a  bright  and  amiable  boy.  I  pray 
God  will  never  allow  him  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  master. 

"Called  to  see  a  sick  man,  Abel  Middleton,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  school.  He  is  very  sick  with  fever.  Fears 
death.  Told  me  he  was  not  a  member  of  any  church, 
though  alwaj'S  went  to  meeting.  He  seemed  anxious 
about  his  condition — said  he  had  greatly  desired  to  go  north 
with  me.  When  I  told  him  that  I  might  come  back  again, 
and  probably  he  could  go  then,  he  said:  'I  fear  I  shall  not  be 
alive  then.'     He  asked  me  to  pray  with  him.     I  poured  out 


"what  was  slavery,    uncle  TOM?"  319 

my  soul  in  strong  crying  for  him.  O  God,  spare  his  life 
and  give  him  freedom.  I'll  never  forget  how  eager  he  was 
to  read.  On  the  forenoon  of  the  following  Sabbath  I  preached 
again  in  the  Methodist  Church  to  a  good-sized  congregation, 
nearly  all  colored  people,  from  the  text  : 

"  'Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  there  is  liberty.'  I 
showed  the  meaning,  that  it  did  not  give  license  to  sin,  nor 
freedom  from  restraint,  but  that  when  God  by  his  Spirit  gives 
his  favor  and  his  blessing  there  \s  freedom,  e.  g. 

"i.  In  God's  law.  The  Bible  is  a  law  of  liberty.  Here  I 
showed  the  falseness  of  the  southern  or  pro-slavery  inter- 
pretation. 

"2.  In  the  Gospel.  Grace  is  free — salvation  is  free.  The 
Gospel  makes  no  distinction  on  account  of  color. 

"3.  In  the  church.  In  her  there  should  be  no  slaveholder 
or  slave.  How  can  any  church  be  Christ's  in  which  mem- 
bers are  enslaved  by  members — no  liberty  to  read,  to  speak, 
to  print  or  to  preach  the  truth  as  to  slavery  ?  « 

"4.  In  \.\iQ: government.  On  this  I  said  but  little,  showing 
only  that  the  nation  is  guilty,  that  the  present  war  is  a 
divine  judgment,  and  that  there  would  be  no  peace  without 
emancipation.  God  is  giving  blood  to  drink.  I  closed  by 
exhorting  them  to  faith  in  Christ  and  to  freedom  from  sin 
and  wrath. 

"A  few  whites  were  present,  all  members  of  slaveholding 
churches.  The  colored  people  not  only  were  attentive  but 
many  of  them  showed  excitement.  They  were  hearing  a 
new  and  strange  Gospel:  and  then  and  there  I  prayed  God 
to  bless  it  for  their  salvation. 

' '  In  the  afternoon  I  preached  my  farewell  sermon  from  the 
text,  'There  shall  be  no  night  there,'  adapting  the  words 
spoken  to  the  people  in  the  night  of  fear  and  sorrow  such 
as  only  slaves  know." 

After  the  services  I  went  again  to  visit  the  sick  man. 


320  I.OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

Abel  Middleton,  in  a  critical  condition  in  fever.  He  again 
asked  me  to  pra}^  with  or  for  him.  When  bidding  me 
farewell  he  warmly  pressed  my  hand  as  though  he  did 
not  wish  me  to  go  away.  He  was  not  a  member  of  any 
church,  only  a  slave.  I  feared  he  would  die,  yet  I  prayed 
for  his  life  and  for  his  salvation,  and  as  I  turned  from  that 
sick  bed  I  offered  up  the  ejaculatory  prayer,  Lord,  save 
him.  lyCt  the  reader  note  that  twenty-five  years  afterwards 
I  saw  that  man  and  had  evidence  that  God  is  the  hearer  of 
prayer.  On  a  subsequent  page  we  will  hear  from  Abel 
Middleton  again. 

In  the  evening  of  that  my  last  Sabbath  in  Beaufort  I  met 
with  the  adult  members  of  the  school  for  prayer  and  to  give 
them  a  parting  advice.     I  find  the  following  record  of  it: 

"I  have  just  come  from  the  meeting  as  it  seems  to  me 
rebaptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  was  good  to  be  there. 
I  led  in  the  singing,  reading  the  psalm  line  by  line.  Sharper 
Green,  a  man  with  a  wooden  leg,  led  in  the  first  prayer. 
Among  other  things  he  prayed  most  earnestly  for  me,  for 
my  family,  for  a  prosperous  journey,  and  that  I  might  be 
brought  back  to  them.  He  thanked  God  for  sending  me 
to  teach  and  to  preach  to  them,  praying  that  I  might  have 
a  rich  reward. 

"The  second  prayer  was  by  Tarquin  Cohen,  who  also 
prayed  and  thanked  as  the  other,  and  alluded  to  the  case 
and  quoted  the  language  of  Paul  who  went  to  Jerusalem, 
'  I  go  bound  in  the  Spirit  unto  Jerusalem  not  knowing 
what  shall  befall  me  there, '  and  prayed  for  my  safety  and 
success  and  return.  I  read  a  portion  of  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  John  without  comment,  and  followed  by  an 
exhortation  to  the  following  effect:  To  continue  their  studies, 
not  to  tire  until  they  could  read  well,  to  avoid  the  influences 
of  the  wicked  soldiers,  to  shun  their  vices,  and  keep  their 
children  from  them,  to  not  trust  all  professing  to  be  friends, 


"WHAT   WAS   SLAVERY,    UNCLE   TOM?"  321 

as  among  the  government's  superintendents,  to  not  enlist 
as  soldiers,  in  case  opportunity  be  given,  except  on  the 
pledge  from  the  government  that  they  shall  be  free.  I 
asked  them  to  let  me  hear  from  them,  to  pray  for  me;  and 
I  told  them  we  might  never  meet  again  here  but  hoped  we 

would  meet  on  high.  -a  a  u    ^^.^ 

"I  then  led  them  in  prayer.  I  hope  I  was  guided  by  the 
Spirit-  and  this  farewell  prayer-meeting  I  will  never  forget. 
It  is  a  bright  spot  in  life's  Sahara.  I  may  never  agam  see 
these  good  people  whom  I  have  learned  to  love  dearly; 
but  while  memory  holds  her  sway  I'll  never  forget  them. 
Whatever  their  ignorance  or  their  want  of  education,  they 
seem  to  be  true  Christians  and  to  love  all  who  they  think 
love  Christ.     The  I.ord  bless  and  guide  them  is  my  earnest 

prayer."  '  ,.  ,  ^^ 

After  the  meeting  was  over  most  of  the  men  lingered  as 
though   they  did    not  wish  to  separate.     I   sat  and  talked 
with    them    about   their   probable   future   condition.     They 
were  fearful  lest  the  war  might  end  and  slavery  continue, 
for    most   of  them   knew    that   the  war   as   waged   by  the 
northern    government  had  not  the  abolition   of  slavery    as 
its   design      I    could    not    assure   them   that   emancipation 
would  result  but  I  told  them  I  hoped  it  would.     God  was 
on  their   side  and   he  would   break  their  yokes.     I    asked 
them    what   they  would   do,    or  what    the   slaves  on  these 
islands  would  do  if  the  masters  would  be  permitted  to  come 
back  and  claim  their  slaves  again.     One   large  man  who 
looked   as  though  he  had  become  embittered  by  the  long 
endurance  of  the   galling   yoke,    and  on  whose  face  were 
depicted  strong  emotions  and  determination,  quickly  straight- 
ened himself  up  and  answered  slowly,  but  with  emphasis: 
*' Why  sir,   dese  rivers  would  all  be  full  of  dead  men. 
After  he  uttered  these   words  all  were  silent.     I   did   not 
know  whether   he    meant   that    they  would    rather   drown 


21 


322  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

themselves,  or  that  they  would  kill  their  masters  if  they 
should  attempt  to  come  over  and  re-enslave  them;  and  I 
did  not  like  to  ask  him  which  he  meant. 

On  Monday  after  hearing  some  lessons  in  the  school 
and  giving  a  parting  advice  I  bade  all  good-by,  leaving 
them  in  the  charge  of  Miss  Wight.  In  the  afternoon  I 
visited  the  sick  and  called  on  some  families  from  which 
children  had  come  to  school.  In  one  of  these,  three  little 
girls  gave  me  some  beautiful  little  toys  and  said:  "Mr. 
Johnston,  please  take  these  home  with  you  for  your  little 
daughter."  How  could  I  fail  to  offer  a  prayer  for  those 
dear  little  girl.s — a  prayer  to  Him  who  loved  and  blessed 
little  children?  They  were  the  children  of  bond-servants; 
mine  was  free.  What  became  of  tho.se  little  girls  I  may 
never  know  unless  it  may  be  mine  to  learn  in  the  heavenly 
kingdom  of  Him  who  came  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the 
captives. 

More  than  thirty-five  years  have  passed  since  the  above 
quoted  records  were  made  though  not  for  the  public  eye. 
They  are  copied  here  and  now  to  show  that  I  loved  my 
work  and  that  there  is  a  probability  that  the  Board  of 
Mi.ssions  afterwards  erred  seriously  in  not  continuing  the 
mission  in  Beaufort.  If  a  proper  person  had  been  sent 
down  without  unnecessary  delay  he  would  have  found  the 
school,  and  possibly  the  old  Methodist  Church,  ready  for 
occupancy.  When  the  missionary  did  go  he  found  things 
somewhat  different  from  what  they  had  been,  and  following 
the  leading  of  the  military'  he  went  to  Fernandina,  Fla., 
to  open  the  mission  there.  It  never  got  a  good  foothold 
but  after  awhile  was  abandoned,  though  the  work  was 
subsequently   begun   again  in   Tennessee  and   Washington. 

"Tuesday  22.  Preparing  for  my  journey  homeward. 
Visited  the  headquarters  of  the  government  agent  (Mr. 
Broad)  who  had  the  oversight  of  the  contrabands  or  people 


"what   was   slavery,    uncle   TOM?"  323 

of  color  in  the  employ  of  the  government.  There  I  saw  a 
sad  sight.  In  a  shed  adjacent  to  his  office  stood  a  j^oung 
man  with  his  hands  tied  with  ropes  to  a  beam  overhead, 
his  arms  stretched  out  and  up  to  their  farthest  extent,  the 
position  evidently  a  very  painful  one  especially  if  long  con- 
tinued; indeed,  it  would  become  torture.  I  asked  the  poor 
sufferer  for  what  he  was  tied  up.  He  said  that  he  had 
worked  a  month  for  the  government  and  had  received  no 
pay;  and  that  he  had  engaged  as  a  servant  to  work  with 
the  captain  of  a  boat  on  the  river  without  first  going  to  ask 
leave  of  Mr.  Broad.  For  this  he  had  l^een  tied  up  to  be 
kept,  as  he  supposed,  all  day.  On  inquiry  I  learned  from 
several  of  the  negroes  that  Broad  was  in  the  habit  of  punish- 
ing them  in  this  way,  that  if  a  man  was  sick  a  day  or  so  as 
not  to  be  able  to  go  and  report  himself  at  headquarters,  the 
next  morning  he  would  be  put  in  'the  cross.'  This  cross 
I  went  to  see.  It  is  made  of  two  pieces  of  timber  or  posts 
.set  in  the  ground  about  four  feet  apart,  with  a  cross  piece  of 
timber  fastening  the  two  together  at  the  top.  The  hands 
are  tied  to  this  top  piece,  higher  than  the  head,  with  the 
arms  stretched  out  at  length.  Then  the  feet  or  legs  are 
stretched  out,  spread  out  wide  and  tied  to  the  lower  end  of 
the  posts.  Here  the  man  is  compelled  to  stand  in  torture  as 
long  as  Broad  pleases.  Some  colored  men  told  me  that  some 
man  is  in  one  of  the  places  almost  all  the  time.  Last  Sab- 
bath a  man  was  in  the  cross  ironed  to  the  posts  all  day.  I 
inquired  the  cause  of  the  offense.  He  had  been  sick  the 
day  before  and  could  not  come  to  work  and  so  did  not  re- 
port himself  at  the  headquarters  until  the  next  morning. 
Accordingly  he  was  chained  for  delinquency. 

' '  I  have  taken  Dr.  Peck  with  me  to  remonstrate  with 
Broad.  This  man  says  he  has  authority  from  General 
Stevens  for  using  such  punishments,  though  he  says  he 
would   not   use   them  if  he  had  the  ball    and  chain.     The 


324  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

negroes  who  told  me  about  the  tortures  said  that  they  never 
had  seen  anything  like  it  in  the  days  when  their  masters 
ruled.  What  inference  must  they  draw?  That  the  Yankees 
are  just  as  bad  as  the  Southerners — that  they  might  as  well 
be  slaves  of  their  former  owners  as  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment. It  is  to  be  regretted,  however,  that  they  do  not 
know  that  this  same  Broad  is  a  southern  man  and  probably 
a  Secessionist  at  heart.  He  has  been  trained  to  ov'erseer 
life,  I  am  told.  It  is  a  shame  and  a  heinous  offense  against 
humanity  that  General  Stevens  did  not  appoint  a  Christian, 
at  least  a  humane  man,  to  occupy  such  a  post." 

"  8  P.  M.  Called  again  on  Abel  Middleton,  the  sick  man. 
Also  on  Sharper  Washington.  Here  at  his  mother's  I  saw 
Sarah  Jane,  a  little  girl  w^ho  comes  to  school.  She  is  very 
bright  and  interesting  and  as  black  as  jet.  She  is  the  only 
daughter  of  a  woman  who  was  born  and  lived  until  nine  or 
ten  years  ago  in  Northampton,  Va.  There  she  had  a  hus- 
band who  belonged  to  another  master.  When  Sarah  Jane 
was  a  year  old  a  slaveholder  bought  the  mother  and  her 
babe  and  took  them  to  Norfolk.  Here  another  trader 
bought  her  and  took  her  to  Richmond.  Here  a  third  trader 
bought  her  and  took  her  to  Charleston.  Here  Richard 
Reynolds  (her  late  rebel  master)  bought  her  and  brought  her 
to  Beaufort.  Who  will  next  buy  or  sell  her?  Will  the 
United  States  Government  ever  be  so  base  as  to  permit  her 
late  rebel  owner  to  claim  her?  If  this  be  done  how  can  God's 
forbearance  last  any  longer?  Who  can  tell  what  infernal 
deeds  have  been  done  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes!  Shall 
they  be  permitted  in  the  future? ' ' 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Homeward  Bound.     Pastoral  Duties  Resumed. 

On  the  morning  of  Wednesday  April  23,   after   bidding 
good-by    to    many  colored   friends    I   went  aboard   a  small 
yacht  for  Hilton  Head,   homeward  bound.     I  left  Beaufort 
two  or  three  weeks  sooner  than    I  had  intended.     Several 
things  beyond  my  control  led  to  this  early  departure.     The 
principal  one  was  that  my  home  pulpit  was  vacant.     When 
I  left  Topsham  I  expected  it  to  be  supplied  at  least  seven  or 
eight  Sabbaths.     In  this  I  was  disappointed.      My  wife  had 
written  urging  me  to  return  home  before  Presbytery.     The 
Atlantic  was  expected  to  sail  from  Port  Royal  on  Thursday 
the    24th.     If  I  had  waited  for  her  next  trip  I  could  not 
reach  New  York  in  time  for  Presbytery,  nor  could  I  have 
any  assurance  that  I  could  get  passage  by  any  other  vessel. 
Besides   in    Beaufort   smallpox    had    broken  out    and    not 
only  was  I  greatly  exposed  to  it  but  there  was  danger  of 
both  the  school  and  the  Sabbath  services  being  broken  up  by 
its  prevalence.     I  left  the  school  in  the  charge  of  Miss  Wight, 
the  first  assistant,  and  Miss  Hale  the  second,  but  not  without 
fears  that  it  might  be  diminished  in  number.     But  I  had 
found  them  to  be  most  excellent  women  and  good  workers; 
and  what  else  could  I  do? 

On  reaching  Hilton  Head  I  called  upon  friends  with  whom 
I  had  formed  acquaintance.  I  learned  that  General  David 
Hunter  had  issued  an  order  declaring  free  all  slaves  that  had 
been  compelled  to  do  army  work  for  the  rebel  army.  This 
order  would  give  Hberty  to  many.     I  rejoiced  in  the  knowl- 

(325) 


326  LOOKING    BACK    FROM   THK   SUNSKT   LAND. 

edge  that  not  a  few  of  my  friends  in  Beaufort  would  be 
freed  by  it.  My  friend  Mercheson,  the  refugee  from  Savan- 
nah, showed  me  the  first  emancipation  certificate  put  into 
the  hand  of  a  slave.  I  took  a  copy  of  it  which  I  sent  to  the 
Aiiti-Slavery  Staiidard  for  publication  that  it  might  give  joy 
to  the  Abolitionists.  It  was  the  first  case  of  actual  freedom 
given  to  a  southern  bondman,  and  it  foreshadow^ed  what  was 
to  come  erelong,  the  freedom  of  millions  I  am  sorry,  how- 
ever, to  have  to  add  that  it  was  not  long  until  this  order  of 
General  Hunter  was  revoked  by  President  Lincoln.  And  yet 
within  nine  months  the  President  himself  was  compelled  to 
issue  a  similar  and  fuller  order  or  proclamation  of  freedom  to 
millions.  The  facts  as  to  General  Hunter's  orders  are 
briefly  stated  in  "Higginson's  United  States  History"  thus: 

' '  The  war  had  not  been  originally  waged  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  but  to  preserve  the  Union;  and  when  Union 
generals — Fremont,  Phelps,  and  Hunter — had,  at  different 
times  and  places,  undertaken  to  set  .slaves  free,  the  President 
had  revoked  their  action,  or  limited  it  to  the  slaves  actually 
employed  against  the  government. ' ' 

The  President's  or  the  government's  conduct  towards 
General  Hunter  in  another  case  was  equally  unworthy  of  the 
administration.  Soon  after  the  issuing  of  free  papers  to  the 
contrabands  General  Hunter  on  his  own  responsibility 
organized  a  regiment  of  black  men.  This  regiment  was 
soon  disbanded  by  the  government  at  Washington.  For 
some  unknown  reason  one  company  was  allow^ed  to  remain 
in  the  service.  In  the  process  of  time,  however,  the  gov- 
ernment was  glad  to  get  the  aid  of  as  many  black  men,  north 
or  south,  as  were  willing  (and  they  nearly  all  would  have 
been  glad)  to  bear  arms  against  the  rebels. 

As  soon  as  practicable  I  called  upon  General  Hunter  and 
narrated  to  him  the  conduct  of  Superintendent  Broad  referred 
to  on  a  previous   page.     The  general  asked  me  numerous 


HOMEWARD  BOUND.  327 

questions  but  did  not  commit  himself  to  any  course  of  action; 
but  he  was  so  gentlemanly  and  manifested  so  much  interest 
in  the  case  I  was  very  hopeful  that  my  visit  to  him  would 
not  be  in  vain. 

The  next  morning  I  learned  that  the  evening  before,  after 
I  had  called  on  the  general  and  told  him  about  the  actions  of 
Broad  at  Beaufort,  he  inquired  of  Mr.  lyce  and  Mr.  Smalley, 
the  Tribune  reporter,  who  and  what  I  was.  When  they 
had  informed  him,  he  assured  them  that  he  would  immedi- 
ately dismiss  Broad  from  his  post  and  send  him  away.  The 
news  seemed  too  good  to  believe.  Not  long,  however,  after 
reaching  my  northern  home  I  read  in  the  public  news  that 
General  Hunter  had  dismissed  the  "overseer"  from  the 
service  and  had  sent  him  in  disgrace  to  the  north.  No 
doubt  thousands  of  the  contrabands  at  Beaufort  were 
jubilant.- 

On  Thursday  about  i  o'clock  the  steamer  hauled  off  her 
cables  from  the  Hilton  Head  dock  and  was  soon  steaming 
out  towards  the  ocean.  I  was  anxious  that  she  might  reach 
New  York  by  Saturday  evening.  She  had  on  board  a  large 
company  of  passengers,  mostly  military  officers.  In  charge 
of  some  of  them  were  about  one  hundred  rebel  prisoners. 
These  were  a  shabby-looking  set  of  fellows.  Though  sol- 
diers, no  two  of  them  were  dressed  alike. 

Except  that  we  encountered  no  storms  but  had  an  average 
sea,  my  return  voyage  was  not  so  pleasant  as  the  former. 
The  passengers  were  nearly  all  in  the  military  department 
and  I  found  almost  none  who  were  companionable.  And  then 
I  was  unfortunate  in  not  having  engaged  a  state-room.  All 
had  been  engaged  previously.  All  that  I  could  do  was  to 
take  a  "private  berth."  The  purser  assigned  one  to  me. 
On  going  to  it  at  bedtime  I  found  it  occupied  by  some  sound 
sleeper.  He  seemed  so  happy  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus,  and 
thinking   of  the   wag    who    wrote   the    complex    sentence. 


328  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

"Blessings  be  on  the  head  of  the  man  who  invented  sleep," 
I  returned  to  the  upper  cabin  and  lay  all  night  on  one  of  the 
side  seats.  I  forget  what  I  utilized  for  my  pillow,  but  I 
know  it  was  softer  than  Jacob's  and  my  bed  better  than  his 
the  night  the  patriarch  lay  out  on  the  ground  at  Bethel. 

Friday  morning  I  learned  a  little  lesson  in  the  Atlantic 
Coast  navigation.  I  remembered  that  when  we  left  Port 
Royal  harbor  the  ship  started  and  continued  to  run  onl)^  a 
little  north  of  east.  When  morning  came — and  my  bed  did 
not  hold  me  until  9  o'clock — I  noticed  that  we  were  still 
running  east  nor'east.  I  could  not  understand  it  for  I  knew 
that  New  York  was  nearly  north.  I  noticed  also  that  one  of 
the  crew  occasionally  dipped  up  water  from  the  sea  and  by  a 
thermometer  tested  its  temperature.  Risking  the  liability  of 
being  laughed  at  for  m}^  ignorance — for  it  is  better  to  appear 
ignorant  than  to  be  ignorant — I  asked  the  man  at  the  wheel 
why  he  was  running  nearly  east,  and  what  the  testing  of  the 
temperature  of  the  water  meant.  He  promptly  answered: 
"We  are  running  out  into  the  gulf  stream,  and  we  know 
when  we  get  into  it  by  the  temperature  of  the  water.  We 
are  now  coming  into  it.  Then  we  will  steer  north."  Rec- 
ollecting what  I  had  learned  about  ocean  currents,  I  needed 
to  ask  no  more  questions.  The  lesson:  We  should  sail  in 
life's  currents  only  when  they  bear  us  towards  our  wished- 
for  harbor  of  peace  and  home. 

On  our  return  voyage  the  first  land  we  saw  was  at  Barne- 
gat  lighthouse  which  we  passed  at  6  o'clock  Saturday 
evening.  I  was  very  anxious  to  reach  New  York  in  time 
to  lodge  with  some  of  the  dear  brethren;  but  our  good  ship  did 
not  fasten  her  cables  in  her  pier  until  a  little  after  midnight. 
Needing  good  sleep  I  hastened  to  a  hotel  for  lodging.  As 
Sullivan  Street  church.  Rev.  J.  C.  K.  Milligan  pastor,  was  the 
nearest,  on  Sabbath  morning  I  found  my  wa}^  to  it  and  heard 
the  pastor  preach  from:  "Great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness; ' ' 


HOMKWARD  BOUND.  329 

in  the  afternoon  from:  "God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh." 
When  he  asked  me  to  preach  for  him  in  the  P.  M.,  I  had  to 
dechne;  but  when  he  asked  me  to  lodge  with  him  I  was  glad 
to  accept  and  once  more  enjoy  the  rare  luxury  of  a  soft  and 
clean  bed. 

On  Monday  after  transacting  some  business  connected  with 
the  mission  I  hastened  to  take  my  journey  homeward,  and 
on  Tuesday  the  29th  of  April  I  made  this  brief  entry  in  my 
diary:  "Reached  home  in  safety  and  found  my  dear  family 
well.  And  now  I  wish  to  record  my  gratitude  to  God  my 
Father  for  sparing  me  and  mine  and  permitting  me  to  return 
home  in  peace.  H!itherto  the  Lord  hath  helped  us.  Now 
let  me  love  my  God  more  sincerely  and  serve  him  more 
devotedly." 

On  returning  home  I  found  much  work  clamoring  for  a 
worker.  As  to  pulpit  duties,  in  the  explanation  of  the 
Psalms  and  in  the  exposition  of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  I 
began  where  I  had  left  off  before  leaving  home.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  first  Sabbath  I  preached  from  the  text:  "For 
unto  whomsoever  much  is  given  of  him  shall  be  much 
required,"  etc.,  deducing  the  doctrine,  "our  responsibilities 
are  in  proportion  to  our  privileges,"  and  showing  how  much 
greater  ours  are  than  those  of  the  enslaved. 

The  Sabbath-school  that  had  been  suspended  during  the 
months  of  the  deep  snow  was  reorganized.  The  class  of 
adults  that  fell  to  the  pastor  as  teacher  numbered  fifteen  or 
sixteen. 

Responding  to  the  requests  of  friends,  on  the  following 
week  I  gave  two  evening  lectures  on  Port  Royal,  its  planta- 
tions and  contrabands,  etc.  Both  evenings  the  house  was 
crowded  and  the  people  manifested  great  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject. It  could  not  be  otherwise  when  the  minds  of  all  were 
so  absorbed  in  the  questions  involved  in  the  war  as  well  as 
in  the  condition  of  the  country  growing  more  serious  every 
day. 


330  LOOKING   BACK   I^ROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

The  next  week  Topsham  was  greatly  agitated  on  the 
question  of  the  liquor  traffic.  A  citizen  who  loved  money 
and  rum  more  than  law  had  been  secretly  selling  liquors  in 
violation  of  the  state  prohibitory  law.  He  was  arrested  and 
tried,  the  state  against  the  rumseller.  Many  witnesses  tes- 
tified and  the  jury^  was  divided.  At  the  second  trial  about 
fort>'  witnesses  gave  evidence.  Most  of  them  were  men 
who  were  known  or  believed  to  have  bought  rum  of  the 
accused.  Many  of  them  manifestly  testified  falsely.  The 
lawyer  for  the  accused  used  every  effort  to  exculpate  him 
and  thwart  justice.  The  friends  of  temperance  and  of  law 
were  indignant.  The  deceptions,  falsehoods,  and  perjury 
were  so  bare-faced  and  the  scenes  during  the  trials  so  appal- 
ling, I  felt  that  the  pulpit  should  not  be  silent,  and  on  the 
following  Sabbath  I  preached  against  lying  and  perjury. 
Three  texts  used  demanded  plain  speech;  they  were: 
"Speak  ye  truth  every  man  to  his  neighbor,  love  no  false 
oath"  (Zech.).  "I  will  be  a  swift  witness  against  the  false 
swearers"  (Mai.)  and,  "The  law  is  made  for  liars,  for  per- 
jured persons"  (Paul). 

Two  propositions  were  amplified:  Truth  is  of  inestimable 
value,  and  there  is  no  place  where  God's  law,  in  this  regard, 
is  so  violated  as  in  the  courts  of  justice.  The  whole  town 
was  agitated  by  the  efforts  of  the  "rummies"  to  defy  the 
law.  There  were  so  many  and  the  efforts  so  determined 
and  fostered  by  the  lawyers  who  themselves  loved  rum,  I 
was  reminded  of  the  words  of  old  Father  Bailey,  the  Con- 
gregational minister  who  had  said  to  me:  "I  am  glad  you 
are  located  in  Topsham.  Wherever  the  devil  has  his  seat  is 
the  place  for  you."  The  week  following  these  trials  I  held 
two  diets  of  catechizing  in  different  parts  of  the  congrega- 
tion. These  diets  and  family  visitations  I  held  twice  a  year, 
as  a  rule,  during  all  my  labors  in  the  congregation.  A 
pastor  who  neglects  these  duties  "stands  in  his  own  light." 


homKward  bound.  331 

After  my  return  from  Port  Royal  I  saw  so  many  evidences 
of  a  low  state  of  religion  in  the  congregation  and  com- 
munity, caused  in  part  by  the  fearful  scenes  of  war  that 
engrossed  the  minds  of  all  classes,  I  saw  the  need  of  revival; 
and  I  see  now  by  reference  to  my  journal  that  during  the 
following  months  of  spring  and  summer  I  preached  many  of 
what  people  call  "Gospel  sermons"— sermons  that  I  hoped 
might  awaken  and  arouse  the  people  to  more  concern  about 
personal  religion  and  greater  activity  in  efforts  to  save  sin- 
ners and  to  revive  the  church. 

On  Sabbath,   May  18,  after  preaching  two  sermons  from 
the  texts,  "Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time;  behold,  now  is 
the  day  of  salvation,"  and  "O  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is 
good,"  a  baptism  occurred.     The  record  made  at  the  time 
reads  thus:  "At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  discourse  I  bap- 
tized a  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison.     The  name  of  the 
babe  is  Nathan  Robinson  Johnston.     I  hope  he  will  become 
a  greater  and  better  man   than   the  one  for  whom   he   is 
named."     Mrs.   Morrison  was  a  most  excellent  woman,  of 
Scotch    but    not    Covenanter   parentage.       She   had    been 
admitted  to  the  fellowship  of  the  church  on  examination  a 
year  or  so  before.     Wm.  Morrison  was  an  intelligent  and 
worthy  son  of  a  Covenanter  mother,  a  most  zealous  Abolition- 
ist but  not  a  Covenanter  by  his  own  profession.     He  had 
asked  admission  to  the  church  but  in  his  examination  by  the 
session  it  was  ascertained,    as  the  moderator   had   known 
before,    that   he   held    to   some    Arminian    theology.     His 
further   examination   was    deferred.       Session    hoped    that 
before  the  next  communion  his  difficulties  as  to  Calvinism 
could  be  removed.     He  came  a  second  time,  but  his  views 
remained  about  the  same,  and  the  session,  in  sorrow  of  heart, 
felt  constrained    to   not  sustain   the  examination.     To  the 
moderator,  indeed  to  all  the  elders,  it  was  a  cause  of  grief, 
for  we  all  would  have  been  made  glad  if  Mr.  Morrison  could 


332  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

have  been  one  with  us  and  his  beloved  wife.  He  felt 
aggrieved,  for  he  thought  the  session  was  too  strict,  and  he 
desired  greatly  to  be  in  the  church  of  his  mother  and  of  his 
wife.  But  the  elders  were  all  strict  Calvinists  and  did  not 
wish  to  open  the  doors  to  any,  however  worthy  in  other 
respects,  who  could  not  subscribe  to  the  church's  cov- 
enanted creed.  The  judgment  of  others,  however,  was  that 
the  "Presbyterian"  session  was  severely  illiberal  if  not 
unkind  also.  And  I  must  confess  that  in  all  my  experience 
as  moderator  in  cases  of  the  kind  this  was  the  most  painful. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison  were  not  only  most  earnest  Aboli- 
tionists— they  called  another  son  John  Brown — but  they 
were  and  continued  to  be  warm  friends  of  her  pastor  and 
his  family. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Trials  of  Faith.     Home  Duties. 

The   next   morning,   Monday  the  19th,   I    left   home   to 
attend  Presbytery  at  Newburgh  and  Synod  at  Pittsburg.    On 
the  Hudson  River  steamer,  Mary  Powell.  I  had  the  company 
of  my  lifelong  friend  and  brother,  J.  R.  W.  Sloane,  always, 
like  his  father,  a  most  interesting  traveling  companion;  ana 
then,  at  our  lodging  during  Presbytery,  I  had  the  always 
welcome  company  of  Brother  Armour.     As  soon  as  the  way 
was  open  in  Presbytery  I  presented  my  own  case  to  which 
reference  was  made  on  the  previous  page.     I  read  a  carefully- 
prepared  paper  explaining  how,  in  what  sense,  and  under 
what   trying  circumstances  I  had  taken   the  oath.     In  my 
statement  I  concealed  nothing  but  voluntarily  confessed  what 
I  then  regarded  as  sin— a  sin  into  which  I  had  been  ensnared 
because  of  my  ignorance  and  in  my  anxiety  to  get  a  passport 
to  Port  Royal.     But  what  I  had  done  did  not  satisfy  all  the 
members  of  Presbytery.     An  elder  who  had  not  welcomed 
Pastor  Sloane  to  New  York  and  who  knew  that  Mr.  Sloane 
had  helped  me  to  secure  my  passport,  notwithstanding  my 
confession    in    Presbytery    presented    a    previously-written 
charge  against  me  and  asked  Presbytery  to  exercise  disci- 
pline.    I  suspected  then,  as  I  think  others  also  did,  that  one 
of  the  motives  of  that  formal  charge  was  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  strike  a  blow  at  my  friend  Sloane.     All   my  co- 
presbyters,   ministers  at   least,  knew  that  I   had  not   been 
inclined  to  liberahsm  toward  the  United  States  Government. 
After  brief  discussion  in  which  only  a  few  took  part,  Pres- 

(333) 


334  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

bytery  voted  that  I  should  be  admonished,  though  quite  a 
number  did  not  vote  at  all.  I  asked  the  brethren  to  give 
me  more  time  to  consider  my  duty.  I  made  it  a  subject  of 
special  prayer  until  the  next  session  of  the  court  when  I 
agreed  to  submit  to  the  admonition  on  the  condition  that  my 
voluntary  confession  and  written  statement  would  be  printed 
in  the  minutes  with  the  printed  action  of  Presbytery  in  the 
case.  As  no  action  was  taken  to  the  contrary,  I  understood 
that  my  request  would  be  granted.  It  was  not.  The 
minutes  were  recorded  without  any  mention  of  my  voluntary 
statement.  Afterwards  as  well  as  then  I  felt  that  Presbytery 
had  done  me  wrong.  My  friend.  Elder  Andrew  Knox,  of 
Mr.  Sloane's  session,  said  to  me  that  I  should  not  have  sub- 
mitted to  the  admonition  as  I  had  done  no  wrong.  But  I 
thought  that  in  Presbyterj'  I  had  done  only  my  duty.  I  felt 
that  whatever  Presbytery  might  do  or  not  do  it  was  all- 
important  for  me  to  do  right.  What  was  the  judgment  of 
others  outside  the  Presbytery  I  do  not  know.  The  minutes 
were  not  published,  and  in  the  Presbyterial  report  to  Synod 
no  mention  of  the  case  was  made. 

Returning  to  New  York  I  hunted  up  some  contrabands 
who  had  arrived  from  the  south.  One  was  from  Virginia 
and  who  had  been  the  coachman  of  Jefferson  Davis.  The 
other  was  my  kiud  friend  Caesar,  General  Olmstead's  cook 
who  had  given  me  my  supper  in  Fort  Pulaski  the  night  after 
its  surrender.  The  next  day  I  found  with  Caesar  William 
Ferguson,  one  of  my  Beaufort  scholars  who  had  just  arrived 
at  New  York.  I  gave  each  of  them  a  speller  and  a  New 
Testament.  They  promised  me  that  they  would  persevere 
until  they  could  intelligently  read  the  Bible. 

Hurrying  on  towards  Synod,  I  stopped  at  Philadelphia  to 
confer  with  members  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  to  hand  in 
my  report  of  the  work  at  Beaufort,  and  to  spend  the  Sabbath. 
I  lodged  again  with  my  old  friend  William  Brown,  the  slave's 


TRIAI.S   OP   FAITH.      HOME   DUTIES.  335 

staunch  friend.  Again  his  pastor,  Dr.  S.  O.  Wylie,  pressed 
me  into  service  in  his  pulpit,  and  I  preached  Sabbath  after- 
noon from  Jesus'  words:  "I  am  come  to  send  fire  on  earth," 
etc.  And  right  here  I  wish  to  record  my  estimate  of  this 
beloved  brother  and  father  who  for  so  many  years  was  among 
the  most  influential  ministers  in  the  church.  My  acquaint- 
ance with  him  was  neither  as  early  nor  as  intimate  as  with 
some  of  his  cotemporaries,  but  I  was  so  long  a  co-Presbyter, 
and  I  saw  so  much  of  him  in  Synod  and  in  his  own  cit}'  and 
congregation,  that  I  could  hardly  be  mistaken  as  to  his  real 
worth.  In  my  judgment  he  was  wrong  on  the  question  of 
the  deacon,  and  I  suppose  on  some  collateral  questions  or  on 
cases  growing  out  of  that  long-contesled  issue,  and  perhaps 
he  did  not  at  first  take  as  lively  an  interest  in  the  National 
Reform  movement  as  he  should  have  taken;  but  as  to  per- 
sonal integrity  and  personal  worth,  as  to  brain  power  and 
accurate  scholarship,  as  a  great  preacher  and  faithful  pastor, 
and  especially  in  his  very  earnest  and  active  interest  in  the 
cause  of  foreign  missions,  in  which  he  was  the  acknowledged 
leader  for  many  years,  he  had  few  superior.s  if  any.  To  me 
personally  he  was  alwaj's  gentlemanly,  affable,  kind  and 
warm-hearted,  and  fraternally  trustworthy.  His  piety  and 
Christian  worth  those  who  knew  him  best  could  never  doubt. 
Except  in  the  case  of  Dr.  A.  M.  Milligan  I  never  knew  any 
congregation  that  loved  the  pastor  as  much  as  did  the  Second 
Philadelphia.  His  death  was  a  great  loss  to  his  congrega- 
tion and  to  the  whole  church. 

During  Synod  I  was,  as  before,  most  hospitably  enter- 
tained in  the  family  of  Dr.  Sterritt.  On  invitation  of  Father 
Crozier,  pastor  at  Elizabeth,  I  spent  the  Sabbath  with  him 
and  preached  in  his  pulpit  half  the  day.  He  was  greatly 
interested  in  the  mission  movement  at  Beaufort,  and,  indeed, 
all  his  life  that  good  man  was  actively  interested  in  all  the 
church's  missions. 


336  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

In  one  of  my  intennews  with  Dr.  S.  O.  Wylie  prior  to  our 
departure  from  Philadelphia,  or  at  Synod  prior  to  the  Board's 
report  in  reference  to  what  had  been  done  towards  establish- 
ing a  mission  among  the  contrabands,  he  interrogated  me 
as  to  my  willingness  to  be  the  missionary  if  recommended 
or  appointed.  I  replied  that  if  desired  and  if  it  were  prac- 
ticable for  me  to  go,  I  would  most  gladly  accept  and  devote 
myself  to  the  work;  but  I  earnestly  requested  him  not  to 
nominate  me  or  say  or  do  anything  towards  my  appointment. 
Much  as  I  would  like  to  go,  I  could  not.  The  condition  of 
my  family  required  my  presence  at  home,  and  I  could  not 
take  them  with  me.  The  interests  of  the  congregation  of 
which  I  was  pastor  made  it  imperativ^e  that  I  abide  with 
them;  and  I  loved  both  the  people  and  the  place  as  a  home 
so  much,  I  did  not  wish  to  leave  them  or  it.  Besides  all  this 
I  feared  that  what  had  occurred  in  Presbytery  in  reference  to 
my  getting  my  passport  to  Port  Royal  might  make  it  un- 
advisable  for  me  to  go  if  I  could.  The  result  was  that  after 
the  Board's  report  was  approved  and  adopted,  and  after 
Synod  resolved  to  establish  the  mission,  Rev.  Joshua  Kennedy 
was  appointed  missionary.  What  followed  is  known  to  those 
who  have  been  interested  in  the  Freedman's  Mission.  Before 
Mr.  Kennedy  went  to  Beaufort  the  military  condition  was 
somewhat  changed  and  the  circumstances  of  the  contrabands 
different.  Under  the  influence  of  the  military  officers  he 
removed  to  Fernandina,  Fla.,  where  he  opened  a  mission 
school  and  acted  as  chaplain  in  the  army  a  short  time.  Licen- 
tiate Robert  Shields  was  appointed  his  successor  as  mis- 
sionar3^  I  never  was  reconciled  to  the  change  of  location. 
There  may  have  been  better  reasons  for  it  than  I  knew;  but 
it  always  seemed  unwise.  At  Beaufort  there  was  a  very 
large  number  of  most  needy  slaves  among  whom  the  work 
had  begun.  A  fair  experiment  had  been  made.  The  field 
had  been  occupied  so  long  and  such  a  foothold  gained  the 


TRIALS   OF   FAITH.      HOME   DUTIES.  337 

Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  had  a  right  to  claim  posses- 
sion. When  I  left  Beaufort  it  was  in  the  expectation  that 
some  one  would  be  sent  soon  to  carry  on  the  work  temporarily 
left  in  charge  of  others  until  a  Covenanter  missionary  would 
come  to  relieve  them.  Some  one  should  have  been  sent  with- 
out delay.  A  well-organized  mission  school,  holding  three 
sessions,  forenoon,  afternoon,  and  night,  was  ready  for  the 
returning  teacher.  A  good  house  of  worship,  of  medium 
size,  in  which  religious  services  according  to  the  forms  of 
the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  had  been  held  for  some 
time,  was  awaiting  occupancy  by  the  missionary.  If  so  many 
obstacles  to  my  return  had  not  lain  in  the  way,  most  gladly 
would  I  have  gone  back  to  the  field  and  to  a  work  I  loved 
so  well.  Yes,  that  field  should  have  been  occupied  and  held 
permanently  unless  the  missionary  had  been  driven  out  by 
military  force.  Long  years  passed  before  the  Freedman's 
Mission  was  permanently  located.  And  I  close  this  para- 
graph by  adding  that  it  is  more  than  a  noticeable  fact  that  in 
that  same  little  city  of  Beaufort,  S.  C,  in  which  the  Cov- 
enanter Church  first  began  her  mission  work  in  the  south, 
there  is  now  a  flourishing  Freedman's  Presbyterian  literary 
institution*  at  the  head  of  which  is  Rev.  G.  M.  Elliott,  .so 
long  the  Covenanter  pastor  and  teacher  in  our  mission  at 
Selma,  Ala. 

A  few  Sabbaths  after  my  return  from  Synod  our  summer 
communion  occurred.  I  was  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  C.  K.  Milli- 
gan  of  New  York .  On  the  Friday  before  that  communion  Sab- 
bath this  entry  was  made  in  my  diary:  "Last  night  I  was 
grieved  on  hearing  that  one  of  our  deacons  is  resolved  to 
stay  away  from  the  communion  on  the  ground  that  the 
church  is  wrong  on  the  question  of  civil  government  and 
the  Synod  wrong  on  the  question  of  the  war.     He  seems  to 

*Harbison  Institute. 
22 


338  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

be  drifting  towards  New-Iyightism.  The  war  has  turned  his 
head  and  he  hardly  knows  what  he  believes." 

Samuel  Mills,  the  deacon  referred  to,  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  When  he  united  with  us 
the  session  believed  him  to  be  not  only  a  good  man  but 
intelligent  and  sincere  in  his  acceptance  of  the  Covenanter's 
creed  as  to  the  duty  of  political  dissent.  I  do  not  remember 
certainly  but  I  think  he  did  not  leave  our  fellowship  until 
after  the  lapse  of  a  year  or  two.  He  was  a  man  of  superior 
intelligence  and  ability,  fond  of  debate,  and  not  without 
ambition.  His  wife,  a  woman  of  rare  excellence,  had  had 
much  influence  in  bringing  him  into  the  church.  They  had 
a  family  of  lovely  children.  I  had  a  warm  personal  regard 
for  Mr.  Mills  and  always  enjoyed  his  society;  but  after  he 
became  unsettled  in  his  views  and  began  to  oppose  our  dis- 
tinctive principles,  the  session  feared  his  influence  in  the 
congregation.     Yet  no  discipline  was  exercised. 

In  former  years  at  nearly  every  communion  there  were 
encouraging  additions  to  the  church.  The  majority  of  them 
were  from  the  young  people.  At  this  communion,  however, 
there  w^ere  only  two;  one  w^as  Renwick  McNiece,  younger 
brother  of  Robert  McNiece  then  in  Dartmouth  College,  and 
the  other  was  Mrs.  Ruth  Kimball.  This  good  woman  was 
a  convert  from  the  world.  Her  daughters  had  been  scholars 
in  our  Sabbath-school.  Then  they  became  students  in  our 
Topsham  Normal  School  and  associated  with  our  Covenanter 
youth.  One  of  these  daughters  had  been  converted  and 
received  into  the  church  by  baptism.  Erelong  the  mother 
made  an  intelligent  profession  and  was  received  and  baptized. 
As  always  when  such  were  added  to  the  church  there  was 
joy  among  Christ's  disciples  in  Topsham. 

On  Friday,  June  ii,  1862,  the  following  record  was  made 
in  the  pastor's  diary:  "Last  night  at  about  i  o'clock  my 
wife  gave  birth  to  a  second  daughter.  Both  are  doing  well. 
The  Lord  be  praised  for  sparing  the  life  of  mother  and  child. ' ' 


TRIALS   OP   FAITH.       HOME   DUTIES.  339 

During  the  year  now  passing  the  excitment  caused  by  the 
war  continued  to  grow  more  and  more  intense.  Scattered 
over  the  town  of  Topsham  there  were  numerous  citizens  who 
were  in  sympathy  with  the  rebels.  A  few  such  were  in  the 
village  but  they  were  obliged  to  be  reticent  or  very  cautious 
as  to  their  words.  Probably  these  things  were  the  occasion 
of  my  preaching  a  sermon  on  the  text:  "For  rebellion  is  as 
the  sin  of  witchcraft,"  in  which  I  applied  its  truth  to  the 
south  and  argued  and  illustrated  this  proposition,  viz.,  "The 
rebellion  of  the  southern  slaveholding  states  is  exceedingly 
wicked." 

Probably  it  was  about  the  first  of  August  when  President 
Lincoln  issued  a  new  call  for  six  hundred  thousand  more 
soldiers.  Three  hundred  thousand  were  to  be  drafted  im- 
mediately, and  if  the  remaining  three  were  not  made  up  by 
volunteers  by  the  15th  of  August  they  were  to  be  drafted. 
Partly  through  fear  of  being  drafted  several  Covenanters, 
including  some  young  men,  were  thinking  of  enlisting  in 
the  army.  In  the  present  condition  of  the  country  and  in 
the  present  manner  of  conducting  the  war  against  the  south, 
I  deeply  regretted  their  purpose,  and  I  could  not  suppress 
the  conviction  that  to  be  faithful  to  God  and  to  myself  as  a 
pastor  I  should  warn  the  brethren  against  the  course  con- 
templated. That  the  readers  may  not  be  swift  in  their 
condemnation  of  this  conviction  of  the  pastor  let  them  be 
reminded  of  the  fact  that  prior  to  the  date  of  this  draft  and 
some  time  afterwards  there  was  no  change  in  the  policy  of 
the  administration — no  intention  as  yet  to  do  anything  to 
harm  the  darling  institution  of  the  south;  and  let  it  be 
remembered  that  within  a  year  or  two  after  this  draft  the 
pressure  upon  President  Lincoln  and  the  fear  of  the  success 
of  the  Rebellion  became  so  great  he  and  his  cabinet  were 
compelled  to  change,  step  by  step,  the  character  of  the  war. 
If  the  administration   had  done  prior  to  August   i,    1862, 


340  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

what  it  did  aftenvards  from  time  to  time  from  absolute 
necessity,  the  sermons  on  this  subject  preached  by  the 
Topsham  pastor  would  never  have  been  preached.  And 
let  it  be  remembered  also  that  on  the  question  of  the  sin  or 
duty  of  Covenanters  enlisting  as  soldiers  the  church  was 
much  divided,  and  not  a  few  were  rushing  into  the  army, 
their  motives  varying,  and  some  without  studying  the  prin- 
ciples or  responsibilities  involved.  One  pastor  left  his  con- 
gregation and  as  a  captain  led  a  large  number  of  his  people 
with  him  into  the  fields  of  battle.  Of  course  the  plaudits  of 
the  people  would  tend  to  quiet  the  consciences  of  Covenanter 
soldiers  or  close  their  ears  against  those  who  might  plead 
with  them  not  to  go.  But  it  has  passed  into  history'  that 
some  Covenanters  did  not  and  would  not  become  soldiers. 
In  declining  to  volunteer  they  were  loyal  to  Christ  and  to 
the  slave. 

Unless  by  those  who  have  read  some  minutely'  written 
history  of  the  administration  during  the  war,  it  is  not 
known  that  there  was  an  effort  to  colonize  the  people  of 
color,  thus  reviving  the  principles  held  by  the  American 
Colonization  Society.  I  do  not  remember  with  whom  it 
was  first  originated  or  by  whom  it  was  first  proposed,  but 
Congress  having  voted  a  large  sum  of  money  to  be  used  in 
colonizing  the  blacks,  President  Lincoln  proposed  a  plan  to 
some  of  the  leading  men  of  that  class  and  began  to  carry  it 
out.  The  plan  was  to  found  a  colon^^  in  Central  America  to 
which  all  would  be  sent  who  would  consent  to  go.  Of 
course  the  colonization  scheme  would  not  meet  with  the 
favor  of  the  despised  race,  and  it  soon  died  out.  The 
purposes  of  the  Ruler  of  nations  could  not  be  frustrated. 

Descending  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous,  the  follow- 
ing items  are  copied  from  my  journal  of  September  15,  viz. 
"Went  to  Bradford  on  business.  Saw  the  soldiers  there 
riding  a  Secessionist  on  a  rail." 


'Trials  oi^  faith,    homk  duties.  341 

"lyearned  from  a  friend  that  some  loyal  (?)  citizens  of 
Bradford  think  that  Abolitionists  should  be  hung,  and  that 
they  had  mentioned  three  as  specimens  with  whom  to  begin: 
viz.  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Rev.  Silas  McKeene,  pastor  of 
the  Bradford  Congregational  Church,  and  the  Presbyterian 
minister  in  Topsham.  I  thus  find  myself  in  honorable 
company . ' ' 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

War    Problems. 

On  the  29tli  of  September,  1862,  in  the  progress  of  the 
war  against  the  Confederate  slaveholders,  the  President 
issued  a  remarkable  document  declaring  his  intention  to 
proclaim  freedom  to  all  the  slaves  of  rebel  states  not  return- 
ing to  the  Union  before  the  ist  of  January'  next.  This  was 
a  marvelous  advance  from  previous  acts  by  the  President. 
It  made  glad  the  hearts  of  millions  in  the  north  and  multi- 
tudes of  northern  soldiers.  Abolitionists  rejoiced  in  it  but 
would  have  rejoiced  ver^'  much  more  if  the  proclamation 
had  been  far  better.  But  there  were  other  things  in  that 
presidential  proclamation  that  all  right-hearted  men  approved 
and  praised  God  for.  It  enjoined  upon  the  military  officers 
the  enforcement  of  the  acts  of  Congress,  viz. 

1.  No  military  officer  may  return  fugitive  slaves. 

2.  All  slaves  of  rebels — slaves  coming  into  our  lines — 
were  to  be  forever  free. 

3.  No  slaves  of  rebels  were  to  be  returned  at  all.  This 
and  similar  advanced  steps  were  not  of  the  President's  own 
choosing  but  the  result  of  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon 
him  by  anti-slavery  men  in  his  cabinet  and  in  Congress  or 
from  northern  men.  As  this  new  and  advanced  step  was 
now  greatly  agitating  the  people,  and  as  the  first  part  of  the 
proclamation  was  so  far  from  what  it  should  have  been,  I 
felt  that  I  would  be  culpable  if  no  testimony  would  be  heard 
from  the  pulpit.  Accordingly  on  the  following  Sabbath  I 
preached  on  the  subject  using  several  verses  as  the  text,  viz. 

(342) 


WAR    PROBI^EMS.  343 

"Deliver  the  poor  and  needy;  rid  them  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  wicked;"  "Relieve  the  oppressed;"  and  "Behold,  7iow 
is  the  accepted  time." 

In  the  discussion  I  acknowledged  that  the  proclamation 
was  a  wonderful  advance  upon  the  previous  policy  of  the 
administration  and  that  it  introduced  the  dawn  of  hope. 
"We  now  have  crossed  the  line.  The  days  will  become 
longer  and  the  nights  shorter.  And  for  the  first  time  we 
have  a  decided  policy  on  the  part  of  the  administration. 
The  deed  can  not  be  revoked.  General  Hunter's  proclama- 
tion had  been  nullified;  this  can  not  be.  It  is  law.  Possibly 
it  may  become  a  dead  letter,  but  who  can  revoke  it?" 

Yet  such  queries  as  these  arose  and  were  asked:  viz..  Is 
this  proclamation  what  God  demands?  Is  it  what  it  should 
be  now  when  God  is  judging  the  nation  for  its  sins,  especially 
for  its  slaveholding?  Should  we.  Covenanters  and  Abolition- 
ists, be  satisfied  with  it?  When  the  war  broke  out — the  war 
of  slaveholders  against  the  government — the  President  in 
the  exercise  of  the  war  power  had  full  authority  to  declare 
all  slaves  free.  But  here,  after  eighteen  months  of  fearful 
bloodshed,  he  still  adheres  to  his  old  theories.  It  declares 
his  readiness  to  return  fugitives  to  loyal  masters.  It  renews 
the  old  proposition  to  colonize  the  free  people  of  color;  and 
he  is  ready  to  pay  the  slaveholders  for  freeing  their  slaves. 
In  all  these  the  President  puts  human  law  above  divine, 
lyook  at  the  facts.  The  proclamation  only  threatens  the 
rebel  masters  that  if  they  do  not  lay  down  their  arms  within 
three  months  he  will  declare  their  slaves  free.  But  this 
should  have  been  done,  and  long  ago,  as  an  act  of  justice  tc 
the  slave.  God,  humanity,  and  patriotism  all  called  for  it 
But  it  was  done  only  as  a  last  resort  when  pressed  on  all 
sides  by  the  enemy  and  by  God's  wrath.  It  was  done 
merely  to  save  the  Union,  the  unholy  union  with  slave- 
holders; it  was  only  an  act  oi  policy.     It  should  have  been 


344     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

universal,  to  all  the  four  millions,  slaves  of  loyalists,  as  well 
as  of  rebels.  Why?  Because  slaver>^  was  the  cause  of  the 
war  and  the  cause  of  God's  wrath.  If  only  the  slaves  of 
rebels  be  freed  there  will  be  more  than  half  a  million  remain- 
ing in  bonds  in  the  five  loyal  slave  states.  Moreover,  the 
Proclamation  of  Emancipation  should  have  been  immediate 
and  unconditional.  Why?  God  so  commands.  ''Now  is 
the  accepted  time. "  "  Break  eve)y  yoke  7iow. ' '  Why?  Lest 
the  rebels  take  advantage  of  the  delay.  Why?  And  I  em- 
phasize this,  because  if  the  design  of  the  President  be  effected 
and  the  rebel  states  return  to  the  Union  as  he  desires  them 
to  do,  and  as  he  endeavors  by  his  threat  to  drive  them  to  do, 
the  four  millions  of  slaves  would  still  wear  the  chains.  Then 
the  rebels  would  be  unpunished.  The  cause  of  God's  wrath 
would  still  exist,  and  the  old  causes  of  troubles  between  the 
north  and  the  south  would  still  remain.  But  though  an 
awful  blunder  has  been  made  no  doubt  God  intends  to  frus- 
trate the  purposes  of  men.  The  day  of  universal  and  un- 
conditional emancipation  is  near  at  hand.  God's  silver  jubi- 
lee trumpet,  "proclaiming  liberty  throughout  all  the  land 
and  to  a//  the  inhabitants  thereof,"  will  yet  be  blown  from 
the  National  Capitol  and  all  the  world  shall  hear  it,  for 
Jesus  reigns. 

As  the  months  of  autumn  passed,  the  struggle  between 
the  north  and  the  south  became  more  and  more  terrible,  and 
many  observant  patriots  were  fearful  that  the  southern  Con- 
federacy might  be  a  success.  More  and  more  the  southern 
sword  was  devouring  the  thousands  of  our  choicest  3^oung 
men.  From  Topsham  congregation  some  of  the  pride  of 
our  best  famiUes  had  enlisted  and  were  now  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  while  loving  hearts  at  home  were  in  almost 
sleepless  anxiety  for  their  boys  in  blue.  Under  these  circum- 
stances I  feared  that  the  duties  of  family  and  personal  relig- 
ion might  be  neglected,  and  that  those  who  most  needed 


WAR    PROBLEMS.  345 

"the  great  salvation,"  might  altogether  neglect  it.  Accord- 
ingly, during  the  autumn  and  winter  I  preached  much  and 
often,  or  nearly  all  the  time,  such  sermons  as  I  thought 
would  tend  to  bring  sinners  to  Christ  and  to  awaken  into 
livelier  Christian  activity  the  members  of  the  church.  Early 
in  the  autumn  I  began  a  series  of  week-evening  lectures  on 
several  subjects  that  I  hoped  would  interest  and  call  out 
the  people.  The  most  of  them  were  written  and  read. 
Three  or  four  of  them  were  on  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  in 
the  schools.  These  were  largely  attended  by  the  young  peo- 
ple of  almost  all  classes.  Two  on  Church  Fellowship  or  in 
defense  of '  'close  communion' '  occasioned  no  little  disputation 
in  the  community.  Our  semi-annual  pastoral  visitations 
were  made  prior  to  our  winter  communion.  This  occurred 
on  the  first  Sabbath  of  January,  when  I  was  again  favored  by 
the  assistance  of  Brother  Armour.  I  had  assisted  him  at 
his  communion  two  weeks  before.  To  add  to  my  work  and 
in  obedience  to  the  appointment  of  Synod,  during  the  winter 
months  I  canvassed  all  the  Vermont  congregations  to  solicit 
money  to  endow  the  Theological  Seminary.  I  think  I  was 
a  poor  beggar.  However  important  the  object  I  didn't  like 
the  service. 

As  was  foreshadowed  by  the  President's  proclamation  of 
September  22,  on  the  ist  of' January,  1863,  lyincoln  fulfilled 
his  promise  to  the  north  and  his  threat  to  the  south  and 
issued  his  proclamation  of  freedom  to  all  the  slaves  in  the 
states  in  actual  rebellion.  It  did  not  affect  the  status  of  the 
slaves  in  the  border  states  that  remained  in  the  Union,  viz., 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  and 
parts  of  Virginia  and  lyouisiana.  As  the  act  of  emancipa- 
tion was  only  a  war  measure,  the  President  as  the  head  of 
the  army  having  this  power,  he  had  no  legal  authority  to 
disturb  the  relation  of  master  and  slave  in  the  loyal  states. 
Practically  slaveiy  continued  in  all  the  states  until  after  the 


346  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   I^AND. 

war  when  by  constitutional  amendment  it  was  abolished. 
The  proclamation  of  January  i  did  not  make  any  actual 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  three  and  a  half  millions  of 
slaves.  Few  of  them  heard  of  the  proclamation.  Their 
rebel  masters  and  the  rebel  soldiers  would  not  be  expected 
to  convey  the  intelligence  to  them.  It  could  not  have  been 
otherwise  for  the  southern  armies  as  yet  held  the  situation  in 
their  own  hands.  The  only  change  that  followed  the  procla- 
mation was  that  all  thought  of  returning  fugitive  slaves  to 
any  owners  in  the  states  in  the  Rebellion  was  abandoned. 
Actual  freedom  did  not  come  to  the  slaves  for  almost  three 
years  or  when  on  December  i8,  1865,  eight  months  after  the 
death  of  the  President,  slavery  was  declared  to  be  constitu- 
tionally abolished. 

As  in  Topsham  we  had  to  depend  upon  the  Boston  or 
New  York  papers  for  news  from  Washington,  we  did  not 
hear  of  the  emancipation  proclamation  until  a  week  or 
more  after  its  issue.  When  the  good  news  came  there  was 
general  rejoicing  by  all  kinds  of  anti-slavery  people.  We 
knew  that  God  had  determined  the  speedy  and  total  over- 
throw of  chattel  slavery  in  the  whole  land  as  well  as  that 
this  awful  destruction  of  human  life  must  soon  cease. 

The  week  preceding  our  winter  communion  (January, 
1863),  was  one  of  anxiety  and  sorrow  to  many.  Death 
from  diphtheria  occurred  in  several  families.  To  others 
came  sad  news  from  the  battle-field  or  the  hospital.  On 
Saturday  morning  the  church  bell  tolled  the  death  of  Morris 
Divoll.  News  had  come  the  night  before  of  his  death  in  the 
army  near  Fredericksburg,  Va.  This  sad  intelligence  cast  a 
gloom  over  many.  He  was  the  second  son  of  Elder  Josiah 
Divoll,  a  lovely  young  man,  and  a  favorite  in  the  family  and 
neighborhood.  It  was  only  a  few  months  before  that  he  had 
volunteered  and  gone  with  his  brother  Charles  to  join  the 
Vermont  Sixth  Regiment,  though  not  until  after  his  marriage 


WAR   PROBLEMS.  347 

to  Miss  Ellen  George.     At  the  tolling  of  the  bell  these  fol- 
lowing sentences  were  written  in  my  journal:   "If  before  his 
departure  he  had  given  good  evidence  of  piety,  the  affliction 
would  not  be  so  sore.     We  all  feel  the  stroke.     We  are  about 
to  renew  our  vows  in  the  sacrament  of  the  supper   under 
afflictive  circumstances.     May  God  make  the  ordinance  very 
useful  to  all  especially  the  afflicted."     The  young  soldier's 
death  was  caused  not  by  the  shot  of  a  rebel  foe  but  by  dis- 
ease.    One  night  he  had  been  on  picket  guard  and  had  to 
stand  in  the  rain  and  in  a  marsh.     He  sickened  and  in  two 
or  three  days  died  in  the  camp  hospital.     The  body  was 
coffined  and  sent  home  arriving  the  Tuesday  night  following 
our  communion.     That  dead  soldier  lay  in  the  same  military 
dress  and  in  the  same  place  in  the  parlor  in  which  a  short 
time  before  he  had  stood  in  the  marriage  ceremony  in  which 
he  held  the  hand  of  his  beautiful  young  bride.     Now  the 
white  robes  of  the  bride  had  been  changed  to  the  garments 
of  the  young  widow.     After  brief  devotion  at  the  house  the 
body  was  carried  to  the  church  and  lay  in  the  vestibule 
while  the  funeral  services  were  held   within.     (The    Cov- 
enanters of  Topsham  objected  to  the  common  custom  of 
carrying  the  dead  body  into  the  church  and  placing  it  before 
the  pulpit.)     A  very  large  assembly  filled  the  house.     It 
was  the  first  case  of  a  soldier's  burial  and  he  had  many 
friends.     Standing  beside  the  pulpit  and  before  the  devotions 
began  I  gave  a  carefully  prepared  eulogy  of  the  dead  soldier 
and  then  from  the  pulpit  preached  from  Dan.  9:26:  "Unto 
the  end  of  the  war  desolations  are  determined. ' '     The  hor- 
tative part  of  the  discourse  was  addressed  to  three  classes, 
the  mourners,   the  large  Band  of  Hope  of  which   he  had 
been  a  prominent  member,  and  the  people  present. 

As  the  whole  nation  was  passing  through  the  terrible 
ordeal  of  the  Civil  War,  and  when  many  Christian  patriots 
were  in  fear  lest  the  Confederate  armies  might  gain  a  final 


34^  LOOKING   BACK   F'ROM   THE^   SUNSET   LAND. 

victory,  at  the  urgent  pleas  of  many  who  believed  that  the 
people  should  humble  themselves  before  the  God  of  battles, 
the  President  appointed  a  day  of  national  fasting,  viz., 
Thursday,  April  30,  1863.  Following  the  mind  of  the 
elders,  we  met  for  public  worship  and  I  preached  an  appro- 
priate discourse.  I  had  a  good  opportunity  to  discuss  the 
principles  involved  in  national  fasts,  the  duty  of  civil  rulers, 
the  causes  of  fasting  now,  and  to  show  that  the  Covenanters 
can  not  observe  the  day  because  of  any  acknowledged  divine 
authority  in  the  gov^ernment,  yet  I  urged  that  as  this  was 
the  best  official  call  to  fasting  or  thanksgiving  ever  issued 
from  Washington,  and  as  we  have  been  guilty  in  many  ways 
as  well  as  those  who  are  identified  with  the  government,  and 
are  chastised  with  the  people,  we  can  heartily  unite  with 
them  in  humiliation  and  confession  and  prayer. 

As  several  times  before,  my  wife  and  I  were  pressed  into 
service  as  teachers  of  a  select  class  of  youth  mostly  teachers 
or  intending  to  be  teachers.  Quite  a  number  of  them,  if 
not  a  majority  of  them,  were  young  people  of  the  congrega- 
tion, and  we  wished  to  make  it  unnecessary  for  them  to  go 
away  from  home  to  attend  academies  outside  the  bounds  of 
the  church.  She  taught  the  normal  classes,  I  the  languages. 
The  natural  sciences  and  mathematics  were  divided  between 
us.  More  than  a  generation  has  passed  and  I  am  not  sure 
about  it  now,  but  I  think  if  we  had  been  asked  then  for  our 
motives  for  teaching  such  classes  we  would  have  replied: 
We  loved  the  companionship  of  the  intellectual  and  virtu- 
ous young  people;  we  were  anxious  to  do  what  we  could  to 
train  them  to  usefulness  and  to  bring  them  to  Christ  and  into 
his  church;  and  as  the  pastor's  salary  was  barely  sufficient 
to  meet  the  absolute  needs  of  the  family,  we  tried  to  make  it 
easier  to  be  free  from  anxiety  about  them.  Besides,  our 
plan  seemed  to  be  kindness  to  the  families  of  the  con- 
gregation none  of  which  were  in  more  than  moderate 
circumstances. 


WAR    PROBLEMS.  349 

As   the   approaching    meeting   of    Synod    was   to   be   at 
Sharon,    Iowa,    and   as    Mrs.    Johnston    had   not   seen  her 
parents  since  their  removal  to  that  state,  we  resolved  to  lock 
up  the  parsonage  and  all  cross  the  Mississippi  together.     And 
who  knows  but  that  their  mother  wished  to  show  their  grand- 
parents  what   nice  little  granddaughters  they  had  in  Ver- 
mont?    On  my  way  to  Presb>  tery  we  stopped  a  few  days  to 
visit    friends    in    New   York.     It   was   anniversary    week. 
Attending   that  of  the    National    Anti-slavery   Society,  we 
had   the   opportunity   of    hearing   some   eminent    speakers 
among  whom  were  Rev.  J.   R.  W.  Sloane,  Robert  Purvis, 
the   eloquent   colored    Philadelphian,  Theodore  Weld,  and 
Wendell  PhiUips.     I  had  never  heard  Mr.  Weld  before.     I 
was   charmed   with    the   man.     His   early   history  when  a 
student  at  Lane  Seminary,  his  wonderful  book,  "A  Thou- 
sand Witnesses,"  his  remarkable  power  of  self-control,  and 
his  readiness  to  bring  in  episodes  and  yet  continue  the  thread 
of  his  speech,  all  made  him  to  me  an  exceedingly  interesting 
speaker.     And   then  he  was  a  very  fine-looking  man — tall 
and    straight,  with  fine  physique,  a  keen,  eagle  eye,  and  a 
most  benevolent  countenance;  and  though  not  seemingly  old 
but  youthful,  his  hair  was  white  as  snow.     In  the  evening 
Theodore  Tilton  and  Wendell    Phillips  were  the  speakers. 
At  this  time  Mr.  Tilton  was  editor  of  the  New  York  Inde- 
pendent, then  and  ever  since  among  the  most  influential  of 
all  the  religious  papers;  and  it  was  before  the  occurrence  of 
the   remarkable   case    of    scandal   in    which    Henry    Ward 
Beecher  was  involved.     The  theme  of  Mr.  Tilton 's  power- 
ful address  was  ' '  Miscegenation . ' '     Before  the  great  audience 
in  Cooper  Institute  he  boldly  favored  the  intermingling  of 
the  two  races  and  showed  that  the  result  would  be  a  race 
superior   to   either   now — superior   both    physically  and   in 
intellectual  capacity,  and  likely  to  become  the  great  dom- 
inating nation  of  the  world. 


350  I.OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND. 

As  the  war  and  its  relation  to  slavery'  were  the  all- 
absorbing  themes  before  the  public  mind,  the  address  of 
Wendell  Phillips  was  one  of  sublimity  and  power.  No 
man  in  the  nation  spoke  on  the  public  platform  the  very 
truth,  and  the  whole  truth  needed  then,  with  such  power. 
If  the  people  and  those  who  have  the  control  of  the 
government  had  heeded  his  voice  the  country  might  have 
been  saved  from  the  wa\'es  of  divine  wrath  that  were 
sweeping  over  it. 

At  the  anniversary  of  the  American  Temperance  Union, 
held  in  Dr.  Cheever's  church,  eminent  speakers  set  forth 
the  fearful  effects  of  the  use  of  liquors  in  the  army.  Senator 
Pomeroy  said  that  one-half  of  all  the  deaths  were  to  be 
traced  to  rum  and  quinine.  Farseeing  men  feared  that 
after  the  war  an  army  of  drunkards  would  come  back 
to  us. 

At  the  convention  of  loyal  women  I  had  the  privilege 
of  hearing  that  eminent  and  good  woman,  Mrs.  Angelina 
Grimke  Weld.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Judge  Grimke  of 
Charleston,  S.  C.  She  and  her  sister  Sarah  became  Aboli- 
tionists, emancipated  their  slaves,  joined  the  Quakers  in 
Philadelphia,  and  by  their  writings  and  public  addresses 
did  much  to  awaken  public  opinion  against  slavery.  She 
was  married  to  Theodore  Weld  in  1838,  and,  like  her  hus- 
band, was  ever  true  to  the  cause  of  freedom. 

After  Presbytery  we  started  on  our  long  journe}^  by  rail 
to  the  Mississippi.  At  McGregor,  Iowa,  we  were  met  by 
Mrs.  Johnston's  brother  and  sister  who  had  come  with  a 
conveyance  to  take  her  and  the  children  to  their  home  at 
Eden,  Faj^ette  County.  Parting  from  them  at  McGregor 
I  hastened  to  the  meeting  of  Synod.  During  its  sessions 
Rev.  J.  ly.  McCartney  and  I  were  kindly  entertained  by 
the  family  of  Mr.  McCune.  On  Sabbath  we  heard  Dr. 
S.    O.   Wylie   preach   from    the    text,    "A   name  which   is 


WAR   PROBLEMS.  35 1 

above  every  name.  The  sermon  was  such  as  few  have  the 
privilege  of  hearing. 

That  meeting  of  Synod  was  somewhat  stormy.  War 
patriotism  ran  ver>'  high.  The  American  flag,  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  that  some  of  us  had  always  looked  upon  as 
the  emblem  of  oppression  as  well  as  of  national  disloyalty 
to  our  divine  Lord,  was  used  to  drape  the  pulpit  and  the 
church  inside,  the  entrance  door  of  the  house,  and  the 
arched  gateway  into  the  grounds.  Probably  it  was  the 
last  day  of  Synod,  the  ladies  of  the  congregation  prepared 
a  most  sumptuous  dinner  for  the  members,  the  tables  being 
out-of-doors  and  on  one  side  of  the  ample  grounds.  In 
front  of  the  church  a  procession  was  formed  and  thence 
marched  behind  the  floating  Stars  and  Stripes  to  the  tables. 
It  seemed  as  though  the  people  then,  if  not  Sjaiod  also, 
were  afraid  lest  the  Covenanters  might  be  regarded  as  dis- 
loyal. The  flaunting  of  the  flag  ever>^where,  they  appeared 
to  think,  would  convince  the  people  that  Covenanters  are 
ready  to  fight  under  ' '  Old  Glory  ' '  to  put  down  the  Rebel- 
lion whether  to  restore  the  Union  or  to  give  liberty  to 
the  slaves.  Many  Covenanters  were  already  in  the  army, 
though  Captain  Todd,  the  pastor  of  the  Elkhorn  congrega- 
tion, had  obeyed  the  order  of  Synod  and  had  left  the  army. 
(See  "Glasgow's  History.")  Two  of  the  ministers  who  did 
not  care  to  march  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  especially  as 
these  did  not  symbolize  freedom  to  the  bondman,  did  not 
"fall  into  line"  behind  the  flag.  For  this  silent  method 
of  showing  their  disapprobation  of  Synod's  fustian  patriot- 
ism these  two  brethren  were  subjected  to  no  little  ridicule  if 
not  also  harsh  censure.  Yet  their  garments  did  not  smell  of 
fire. 

The  question  that  awakened  so  much  discussion  in  Synod 
assumed  this  form:  May  Covenanters  enlist  in  the  army? 
The  animus  of  Synod  may  be  inferred  from  the  passage  of 


352     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

a  motion  to  lay  on  the  table,  or  to  reject,  the  following 
proposition,  viz.,  "Ministers  of  this  church  can  not,  in  con- 
sistency with  our  principles  and  testimony,  voluntarily  enter 
the  military  service  of  the  United  States  while  the  Constitu- 
tion and  the  government  retain  their  ungodly  character." 
This  statement  had  been  moved  as  an  amendment  to  the 
report  anent  the  war  question.  Some  argued  that  it  made 
an  "indirect  issue."  This  might  have  been  true  if  the 
language  "can  not  voluntarily  enter  the  militar>^  service" 
had  not  been  intended  to  include  as  a  reason  the  character 
and  conduct  of  the  present  war.  Only  twenty  members 
voted  in  favor  of  the  amendment. 

Subsequently,  in  finally  adopting  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee S^'nod  voted  that  "the  ordinars'  .soldier's  oath  is 
objectionable  and  can  not  receive  the  approbation  of  Synod," 
and  passed  the  motion  to  appoint  a  committee  to  obtain  from 
the  proper  authorities  the  sanction  of  a  better  and  proper 
soldier's  oath.  The  minutes  give  no  account  of  any  com- 
mittee being  appointed;  and  I  have  no  recollection  of  any 
change  in  the  form  of  the  oath  being  made.  Covenanters 
then  in  the  army  had  taken  the  soldier's  oath,  and  after- 
wards others  took  it,  and  yet  discipline  was  not  exercised. 
Indeed,  the  case  stood  thus:  Synod  knew  that  in  the  present 
excitement  of  the  country  and  when  men  were  rushing  into 
the  army,  the  motives  being  various,  some  of  our  young 
men  would  become  soldiers  whatever  the  moral  obstacles 
might  be;  and  Synod  knew  that  to  attempt  to  exercise  dis- 
cipline upon  the  soldiers  who  had  taken  the  sinful  oath 
would  most  likely  cause  them  to  leave  the  church.  What 
should  be  done  was  difficult  to  know;  and  the  church  was  in 
a  critical  position  and  liable  in  the  progress  of  the  war  to  be 
carried  ofi"  her  feet  bj-  the  irresistible  wave  of  the  militar}^ 
excitement. 

After  Synod  I  hastened  to  Eden  to  find  my  family  resting 


WAR   PROBLEMS.  353 

and  enjoying  the  visit  with  the  friends  on  their  trans- 
Mississippi  farm.  The  large  family  that  Father  and  Mother 
Rogers  had  taken  with  them  from  Vermont  was  already 
being  diminished  by  marriage  and  by  the  war.  Among  the 
sons  four  had  volunteered  for  the  service  and  were  in  the 
army  of  the  Mississippi.  No  wonder  that  the  parents  and 
sisters  were  in  constant  anxiety  and  that  many  prayers 
ascended  from  that  family  altar  for  the  absent  "boys  in 
blue."  Sister  Almira,  the  third  daughter,  a  young  and 
lovely  girl,  was  a  teacher  in  the  village  in  the  home  district. 
On  vi.siting  the  school  I  saw  that  she  had  the  elements  of  a 
good  teacher  and  of  a  useful  woman;  and  we  did  not  lose 
sight  of  her  afterwards.  Our  farewell  with  Father  Rogers 
that  day  was  the  last.  Before  the  next  time  we  passed  west 
of  the  Father  of  Waters  he  had  pas.sed  over  the  Jordan  and 
into  the  land  of  rest. 

Our  visit  over,  we  started  on  our  long  journey  homeward 
through  Chicago  and  stopping  a  little  while  at  Bellecenter 
and  vicinity  to  visit  friends  and  rest  a  little  before  starting 
for  the  Green  Mountain  state.  We  reached  home  in  health 
and  thankful  for  the  kind  Providence  that  had  preserved  us 
all  during  the  days  and  nights  of  wearisome  travel.  Sabbath 
work  and  pastoral  duties  were  resumed. 

At  the  summer  commvniion  there  were  several  additions  to 
the  church,  two  by  baptism.  They  both  were  from  families 
outside  of  the  church  and  both  excellent  women.  One  was  the 
wife  of  an  unbeliever,  skeptical  in  his  religious  belief  though 
an  honorable  and  prominent  citizen  and  always  a  kind 
neighbor  and  friend  of  the  pastor.  Though  an  unbeliever 
himself  I  think  he  was  always  glad  to  send  his  children  to 
our  Sabbath-school,  and  he  gave  evidence  of  more  than 
approbation  when  his  wife  united  with  the  church.  Did 
becoming  a  disciple  of  Jesus  ever  harm  a  good  wife  ?  The 
other  was  the  only  daughter  of  another  unbeliever  though  a 
23 


354  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

constant  attendant  at  church  and  a  most  honorable  and 
influential  citizen.  Association  with  Christian  people  may 
be  very  profitable  even  though  the  man  may  not  be  evangel- 
ical in  his  faith.  The  conversion  of  these  excellent  women 
gave  joy  to  the  church,  and  the  pastor  thanked  God  and 
took  courage. 

The  text  of  the  action  sermon  was  John  19  134,  "But  one 
of  the  soldiers  with  a  spear  pierced  his  side,  and  forthwith 
came  thereout  blood  and  water." 

On  Monday  the  congregation  elected  another  elder,  Alex- 
ander Shields,  Sr.,  formerly  an  elder  in  Craftsbury  congrega- 
tion. He  was  the  father  of  Rev.  Robert  Shields  and  one  of 
the  best  men  I  have  ever  known.  At  his  installation  shortly 
afterwards  I  preached  a  discourse  on  the  office  of  ruling  elder 
and  dwelt  at  some  length  on  the  divine  authority  for  it.  I 
did  this  partly  because  all  the  other  churches  in  the  town 
and  in  the  whole  region  are  without  the  office;  and  I  was 
always  anxious  that  good  people  in  .sister  denominations 
might  learn  that  the  form  of  our  "church  polity  "  is  not  left  to 
the  opinion  of  the  people  but  has  good  .scriptural  authority. 

Shortly  after  our  communion  the  .sad  intelligence  came  to 
one  of  the  mothers  of  the  congregation,  Mrs.  Craig,  that  her 
soldier  son  had  been  killed  in  battle.  At  the  burial  the  text 
of  the  funeral  discourse  was:  "Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  Him." 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 
Bloody  Scene.s.     Pastoral  Life.     National  Reform. 

During  the  week  ending  Saturda3%  July  i8,  1863,  the 
city  of  New  York  was  the  scene  of  such  a  riot  as  had  never 
occurred  in  any  city  in  the  United  States.  For  several  days 
the  city  was  in  the  hands  of  a  merciless  mob.  Infuriated 
rioters  resisted  the  authorities  by  violence,  murder,  pillage, 
and  fire,  bidding  defiance  to  policemen  and  strong  military 
forces.  Multitudes  of  houses  were  burnt,  multitudes  of 
houses  and  stores  were  plundered,  many  innocent  lives  were 
taken  by  violence;  and  the  poor  and  unprotected  negroes 
were  hunted  and  driven  out  and  murdered,  and  some  hanged 
and  burnt  in  the  streets.  The  immediate  occasion  (not  the 
cause)  of  this  riot  was  the  action  of  the  Federal  Government 
in  drafting  men  for  the  war.  The  Union  Army  was  suffering 
such  fearful  losses  both  on  the  battle-fields  and  from  sickness 
that  the  volunteers  did  not  meet  the  demand  so  that  the 
draft  became  an  absolute  necessity.  The  opposition  was  not 
only  to  the  draft  itself  but  to  the  exemption  giv^en  to  any  who 
would  pay  three  hundred  dollars.  This,  it  was  alleged, 
favored  the  rich  who  could  buy  exemption  and  throw  the 
burden  on  the  working  classes  and  the  poor.  To  add  fuel 
to  the  flames  some  of  the  Democratic  and  ' '  Copper  Head  ' ' 
papers  that  had  opposed  the  draft  came  out  with  fierce  arti- 
cles calculated  to  infuriate  the  mob. 

In  Topsham  many  knew  the  occasion  of  these  riots  but 
few  would  consider  the  real  causes.  Therefore  on  the  Sab- 
bath following  I  preached  on  the  subject  using  as  my  texts: 

(355) 


356  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

Eze.  7:23,  "Make  a  chain;  for  the  land  is  full  of  bloody 
crimes,  and  the  city  is  full  of  violence;"  and  Hosea  4:2, 
"By  swearing  and  lying  and  killing,  and  stealing  and  com- 
mitting adultery,  they  break  out  and  blood  toucheth blood." 
In  the  discussion  I  gave  some  of  the  causes  in  the  following 
order:  Misanthrop}-,  or  negro  hate.  The  rioters  directed  their 
greatest  malice  against  the  colored  people  of  the  cit}'.  Love 
of  slavery,  or  opposition  to  the  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
Party  spirit.  By  the  success  of  the  party  in  power  many 
office  seekers  had  been  disappointed  and  some  of  them 
enraged.  Popery,  for  the  mass  of  the  rioters  were  Catho- 
lics, superstitious  or  drunken  papists  who  knew  little  but  to 
swear  by  the  Pope  and  to  "damn  the  niggers."  And,  most 
of  all,  Impiety;  for  men  who  fear  God  and  love  the  Prince 
of  Peace  do  not  join  in  angr^^  mobs  and  bloody  riots.  The 
discourse  closed  thus:  "What  are  the  remedies  for  such 
evils  ?  How  are  we  to  save  the  land  from  violence  and  blood 
and  anarchy?  We  repl}'.  Light  must  be  disseminated  among 
the  people.  There  must  be  more  of  the  elements  of  life, 
truth,  philanthrope^  religion.  The  masses  are  destitute  of 
that  religion  which  is  love  to  God  and  man.  There  must  be 
less  of  that  selfishness  which  is  so  sinful  in  God's  sight  and 
so  unlike  Jesus.  We  must  have  more  sound  moralit^^  less 
intemperance,  more  philanthropy,  and  less  negro  hate;  and 
consequently  more  pure  religion  and  less  of  popery.  Had 
the  authorities  of  the  city  more  fear  of  God  and  less  of  man 
and  a  determination  to  protect  the  innocent  even  though  it 
should  cost  the  lives  of  the  guilty,  the  riot  might  soon  have 
been  put  down.  Nay,  had  the  rioters  known  that  they  would 
have  been  met  b}^  the  stern  arm  of  fearless  officers,  they 
would  not  have  begun.  Hence  we  conclude  that  the  civil 
power  is  incompetent.  The  Federal  Government  is  weak 
because  not  standing  up  in  the  might  of  God's  law  for  the 
right.     National  corruption  permeates  the  whole  people,  and 


BLOODY  SCENES.      NATIONAL   RKF'ORM.  357 

every  part  of  the  body  politic  is  enfeebled.     The  remedy  for 
all  is  in  God,  in  religion,  morality  and  truth." 

The  first  draft  for  soldiers  in  Vermont  was  taken  in  July  of 
this  year.  It  created  great  excitement  and  many  families 
were  in  fear  or  distress  lest  loved  ones  might  be  compelled 
to  go  to  the  front.  Many  volunteered  rather  than  be  drafted. 
To  induce  men  to  volunteer,  the  government  offered  a  large 
bounty  to  every  one.  Not  a  few  Covenanters  were  in  straits. 
In  making  the  draft  the  lot  was  used.  This  called  for  a 
testimony  from  the  pulpit.  It  was  a  discourse  upon  the 
institution  of  the  lot  and  as  to  the  propriety  of  its  use  in 
drafting  soldiers.  In  the  study  I  was  brought  to  the  opinion 
that  all  soldiers  should  be  volunteers,  that  no  man  should  go 
into  the  army  unless  he  believed  the  war  to  be  righteous  and 
the  soldier's  oath  proper,  but  should  suffer  rather  than  fight. 
If,  however,  the  conscript  believed  this  war  to  be  righteous 
and  .saw  no  moral  obstacle  in  the  way,  he  should  not  refuse 
to  go  though  drafted  by  lot.  In  the  progress  of  the  war  and 
in  subsequent  drafts  the  importance  of  these  questions 
became  manifest. 

The  national  and  church  Thanksgiving  day,  November  25, 
called  for  special  services.  From  appropriate  texts  I  endeav. 
ored  to  point  out  both  present  and  prospective  demands  upon 
our  benevolence  growing  out  of  the  war.  Even  this  early 
in  its  progress  numerous  philanthropic  movements,  all  which 
showed  the  benevolent  character  of  Christians,  were  already 
in  good  working  order;  e.  g.,  the  Sanitary  Commission,  the 
Christian  Commission,  the  Freedman's  Relief  Association 
and  many  missionary  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  ex-slaves. 
No  great  prophetic  vision  was  necessary  to  foresee  that  after 
the  war  there  would  be  multitudes  of  widows  and  orphans 
to  care  for,  many  ex-soldiers  to  be  pensioned,  a  mighty  tide 
of  intemperance  to  be  resisted,  and  probably  a  nation  of 
emancipated  people  to  be  lifted  up  to  the  enjoyment  of  what 


358  LOOKING   B  VCK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

schools  and  the  Gospel  only  can  give.  In  the  afternoon, 
causes  of  Thanksgiving  were  found  in  the  wonderful  changes 
for  good  that  had  occurred  since  the  war  began,  such  as  the 
following:  "The  colonization  scheme  is  a  failure;  slave- 
hunting  on  northern  soil  is  almost  broken  up;  General 
McClellan  who  at  first  promised  the  Virginians  that  "with 
iron  hand"  he  would  suppress  any  attempt  of  the  slaves  to  be 
free,  is  himself  dismissed  from  his  high  position;  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  is  abolished;  slave-pens  and  auction- 
blocks  are  almost  wholly  broken  up,  or  will  be  soon.  What- 
ever may  be  the  result  of  the  war  northern  public  opinion 
will  never  permit  the  millions  to  whom  freedom  had  been 
promised  to  be  reinslaved;  many  thousands  of  ex-slaves  are 
now  soldiers  in  blue  and  their  rights  as  citizens  recognized; 
other  thousands  of  northern  negroes  are  mustered  into  the 
army;  the  women  of  the  north  are  engaged  in  an  effort  to 
obtain  a  million  names  of  their  own  sex  to  a  petition  asking 
Congress  to  abolish  slavery  throughout  all  the  land  includ- 
ing the  border  states  not  in  the  Rebellion.  How  marvelous 
the  change!  and  how  it  foreshadows  a  disenthralled  nation!" 

Our  winter  communion  was  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  De- 
cember. Rev.  J.  M.  Beattie  assisted.  Our  fast  day  before 
communion  was  Friday  25.  To  the  people  of  the  middle 
and  western  states  it  would  seem  strange  that  we  did  not 
observe  Christmas,  generally  a  day  of  feasting  and  gladness. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  Vermont  as  in  the  other 
New  England  states  Christmas  is  either  nearly  or  wholly 
unknown  or  forgotten.  The  Puritans  did  not  follow  Catholic 
or  Episcopal  customs.  In  Topsham  the  Covenanters  followed 
the  Puritans,  and  so  all  classes  ignored  Christmas  if  they 
did  not  absolutely  forget  that  others  observed  the  holiday. 

The  session  met  on  the  fast  day  and  examined  and  re- 
ceived into  church  fellowship  five  good  women,  four  by 
baptism   and   one  on  examination.     This   one  had   been  a 


BI^OODY   SCENE^S.       NAT'IONAL   REFORM.  ^^^g 

member  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Massachusetts.  Of 
the  others,  one  was  an  aged  lady,  a  convert  from  the  world; 
another,  in  middle  life,  also  a  convert  from  the  world.  The 
other  two  were  young  women,  most  interesting  and  excellent 
daughters  of  non-professing  fathers,  and  one  of  a  Methodist 
mother,  the  other  of  a  Baptist.  These  four  were  all  baptized 
on  Saturday.  There  was  joy  in  the  Congregation  that  day. 
In  the  heart  of  the  pastor  there  was  gratitude  as  well  as 
gladness.  These  five  added  to  the  five  who  had  been  re- 
ceived at  the  communion  in  July  made  ten  for  this  year, 
nine  women  and  one  man.  The  entire  number  of  communi- 
cants or  members  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  sixty-two,  of 
whom  forty-five  were  women  and  fourteen  men.  This  was 
about  the  proportion  during  all  the  years  since  my  installa- 
tion over  what  I  always  regarded  as  only  a  mission  church. 

At  the  meeting  of  session  referred  to  above  Mr.  William 
Morrison  appeared  a  second  time  for  examination  and  ad- 
mission to  the  church.  His  examination  was  satisfactory 
except  in  theology  in  reference  to  the  doctrine  of  the  atone- 
ment. He  could  not  subscribe  to  the  Confession  of  Faith  in 
its  statement  on  that  subject;  and  so  the  ses->ion  was  unani- 
mous in  the  opinion  that  he  should  not  be  receivt  d.  While 
I  did  not  disagree  with  the  elders  it  seemed  hard  to  not 
admit  a  man  so  worthy  in  other  respects.  I  had  labored 
hard  to  convince  him  of  the  truth  of  the  Confession  and  the 
catechism,  but  his  belief  remained  unchanged.  In  after 
years  he  went  into  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  became  a  zealous 
worker  in  it. 

On  Wednesday  after  communion  Colonel  Thomas  of  the 
Eighth  Vermont  Regiment  addressed  a  large  meeting  in  the 
town  hall  and  called  for  volunteers.  To  induce  enlistments 
and  to  avoid  a  draft,  the  town  offered  a  bounty  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  to  every  volunteer.  At  the 
prayer-meeting  next  day  we  heard  that  Robert  McEam,  the 


360     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

older  of  the  two  deacons,  had  volunteered  for  a  term  of  three 
years.  This  made  me  sad.  He  was  a  good  man,  and  as  a 
deacon  he  was  needed  at  home. 

Prior  to  the  war  little  had  been  done  in  the  work  of 
National  Reform  except  what  had  been  attempted  by  cov- 
enanters. Probably  the  Civil  War,  now  raging  so  fiercely, 
gave  an  impetus  to  the  new  movement.  At  first  and  for 
many  years,  like  other  Covenanters,  I  was  sanguine  in  the 
hope  that  by  well-devised  plans  and  vigorous  efforts  the 
United  States  Constitution  might  be  amended  so  as  to  make 
it  a  Christian  fundamental  law,  or  a  Constitution  to  which 
Christians  might  consistently  swear  obedience.  I  thought 
that  whatever  might  be  the  result  of  the  movement  the  effort 
to  amend  would  give  an  opportunity  to  teach  the  people  the 
atheistic  and  infidel  character  of  the  Constitution  and  gov- 
ernment and  so  would  be  an  educator  if  nothing  more. 

On  the  19th  of  January,  1864,  I  received  a  letter  from  Rev. 
A.  M.  Milligau,  then  at  New  Alexandria,  Pa.,  inviting  and 
urging  me  to  attend  a  National  Reform  Convention  called 
to  meet  in  Pittsburg  on  the  27th  of  the  month.  It  was  the 
first  natio7ial  convention  of  the  kind,  and  I  was  anxious  to 
go.  Elder  Keenan,  always  interested  in  the  movement  and 
always  thoughtful  about  such  matters,  asked  and  raised  a 
nice  little  sum  of  money  to  bear  at  least  a  large  part  of  my 
expenses,  and  so  I  went.  On  my  way  I  fell  in  company  with 
Rev.  Dr.  Mcllvaine,  professor  in  Princeton  College  who  was 
going  to  the  convention.  I  had  a  very  pleasant  time  with 
him  between  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg.  I  found  him, 
however,  to  be  semi-New  School  in  theology,  semi-pro- 
slavery,  and  only  semi-temperance.  The  most  prominent 
members  of  the  convention,  as  I  now  remember  them,  were 
Rev.  Dr.  Page,  an  Episcopal  rector  of  Pittsburg,  Rev.  Dr. 
Mcllvaine,  Rev.  J.  M.  Willson,  of  Philadelphia,  Rev.  Dr. 
SprouU,  Rev.  A.   M.  Milligan,   Rev.    Dr.    Douglass,    Rev. 


BLOODY  SCKNES.   NATIONAL  REFORM.       36 1 

Dr.  Samuel  Collins,  and  Rev.  J.  S.  T.  Milligan,  Rev.  H. 
H.  George  and  John  Alexander  of  Philadelphia  must  have 
been  there,  but  I  do  not  now  remember. 

As  I  could  not  make  speeches  in  a  convention  of  great 
men,  I  suppose  they  wished  to  bestow  some  honor  or  get 
some  work  out  of  me,  and  so  they  made  me  the  secretary  of 
the  convention.  I  wrote  up  its  proceedings  and  they  were 
published  in  several  of  the  leading  papers. 

As  that  was  the  first  national  convention,  it  was  thought 
important  to  lay  the  foundations  well,  and  much  time  was 
spent  in  preparing  a  full  statement  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  association  and  of  the  terms  to  be  used  in 
the  proposed  amendment  of  the  Constitution  and  in  the 
memorials  to  Congress.  The  statements  finally  agreed  upon 
have  never  been  changed  except  very  slightly.  Before  the 
adjournment  a  delegation  of  fourteen  was  appointed  to  go 
to  Washington  and  lay  the  action  of  the  convention  before 
the  President  and  before  Congress,  and  to  ask  hiiu  to  make 
the  matter  the  subject  of  a  special  message  to  Congress. 
Dr.  Mcllvaine  was  the  chairman  of  the  delegation.  I 
was  one  of  the  delegates  but  I  did  not  accompany  them 
to  Washington.  My  pocket  was  too  near  emptiness,  and  I 
needed  to  hurry  back  to  home  duties.  On  the?  first  Monday 
evening  after  my  return  I  responded  to  an  invitation  and 
gave  a  public  lecture  on  National  Reform  and  an  account  of 
what  had  been  done  at  Pittsburg.  From  that  time  on  I 
think  the  Covenanters  of  Topsham  were  good  National 
Reformers. 

From  the  records  of  my  diary  I  see  that  a  few  days  after 
my  return  I  visited  the  death-bed  of  the  oldest  member  of 
the  congregation,  Mrs.  Orr,  aged  eighty -seven;  and  that  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  congregation  elected 
another  deacon,  David  lyang,  to  take  the  place  of  Deacon 
McLam  gone  to  the  war.     Mr.  Lang  proved  to  be  worthy 


362  I^OOKING   BACK   FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

of  the  office.  Years  after  when  he  removed  to  Ryegate  they 
elected  him  to  the  eldership.  But  at  this  writing  he  is  in 
Southern  California  and  has  g  ne  out  from  us  into  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  The  vows  of  some  Covenanters  seem  to 
be  made  of  ropes  of  sand.  David  Lang  is  too  good  a  man 
and  with  too  good  antecedents  to  be  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.      Perhaps,  though,  he  hopes  to  make  it  better! 

Having  finished  the  explanation  of  the  Psalms  in  regular 
course,  in  May,  1864,  I  began  to  explain  them  a  second  time. 
By  reference  to  my  diary  of  that  date  I  find  the  following 
record:  "My  earnest  desire  is  that  I  may  be  directed  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  so  that  I  may  explain  truthfully  and  in  such  a 
way  as  to  instruct,  convince,  convert,  sanctify  and  comfort." 
And  now  after  nearly  a  half  century  I  leave  my  testimony 
that  I  love  the  Psalms  of  the  Bible  more  than  ever.  As  the 
years  of  my  life  passed,  and  even  now  in  old  age,  those 
divine  songs  have  been  and  are  my  solace  and  my  joy.  The 
study  of  them  was  of  great  use  to  me,  and  I  hope  that  in 
explaining  them  on  Sabbath  morning  I  was  useful  to  the 
people  of  God,  If  Covenanters  have  more  spiritual  vigor 
than  others  it  is  owing  largely  to  their  familiarity  with  the 
Psalms  and  their  love  of  them.  Those  who  do  not  use  them 
in  praise  suffer  great  loss.  When  will  all  true  worshipers 
see  this  and  reform  their  practise  ? 

But  this  is  not  all  the  truth  as  to  the  Psalms  of  inspiration. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  they  are  worthy  of  being  put 
into  the  most  accurate  translation  and  into  the  finest  poetic 
form  for  use  in  praise.  In  advocating  this  I  have  at  several 
times  been  exposed  to  criticism.  And  so  here  conies  in  a 
little  item  of  history. 

Shortly  after  my  settlement  in  Topsham  I  wrote  an  article 
for  the  Philadelphia  Covenanter,  edited  by  Rev.  James  M. 
Willson.  I  did  not  advocate  a  new  version.  I  supposed  the 
church  was  not  yet  ready  for  this.     I  favored  few  changes 


BLOODY   SCENES.      NATIONAL   REFORM.  363 

except  such  verbal  emendations  as  would  eliminate  all  obso- 
lete words  that  had  been  in  the  version  used  for  nearly  two 
centuries,  and  such  slight  modifications  as  were  necessary  to 
make  the  measure  perfect.  The  United  Presbyterian  Church 
had  done  this,  and  in  some  of  our  Sabbath-schools,  and 
perhaps  a  few  congregations,  their  amended  book  was  used; 
but  this  had  been  done  without  any  church  action  on  our 
part.  The  editor  of  the  article  returned  it  to  me  with  a 
reason  for  declining  to  publish  it.  He  was  opposed  to  the 
proposed  changes.  I  then  sent  it  to  the  Rev,  Dr.  Sproull, 
editor  of  the  R.  P.  and  C.  at  Allegheny.  He  also  declined 
to  publish  it,  alleging  that  he  did  not  care  to  admit  into  his 
magazine  what  had  been  refused  by  the  other.  I  felt  some- 
what aggrieved,  and  I  was  so  confident  of  being  right  that 
I  had  the  article  printed  in  tract  form  and  a  copy  mailed  to 
every  minister  in  the  church.  This  was  the  first  time  but 
not  the  last  that  I  found  it  necessary  not  to  acquiesce  in  the 
judgment  of  "the  fathers." 

The  need  of  emendations  in  our  psalm-book  was  discussed 
somewhat  throughout  the  church,  and  a  few  favored  an 
entirely  new  version  or  a  complete  revision  of  the  old.  Not 
long  afterwards  at  a  meeting  of  Synod  a  letter  was  received 
from  the  United  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  asking  our 
Synod  to  open  a  correspondence  with  the  assembly  having 
in  view  an  entire  revision  of  the  book  or  a  new  version  if 
necessary,  and  this  to  be  effected  by  the  cooperation  of  the 
two  churches.  The  proposition  met  with  little  favor  from 
any  of  the  leading  men  in  Synod.  Rev.  James  M.  Willson 
was  one  of  the  most  outspoken  against  it;  and  the  proposi- 
tion to  cooperate  was  voted  down.  Not  only  some  of  the 
ministers  but  many  of  the  people  were  dissatisfied;  and  the 
question  continued  to  be  discussed.  Meanwhile  the  United 
Presbyterian  Assembly  went  forward  alone  in  the  work  and 
after  a  while  adopted  and  published  a  new  Psalter  free  from 


364  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND.    « 

the  obsolete  words  and  bad  measure  and,  in  addition,  many- 
new  versions  and  varieties  of  meters.  A  few  of  the  Cov- 
enanter congregations  used  the  United  Presbyterian  book  with 
the  emendations,  but  nearly  all  continued  to  use  the  old 
book  with  all  its  faults.  This  was  evidence  that  the  Cov- 
enanters of  that  time  were  loyal  to  the  church  and  obedient 
to  authority,  however  much  they  believed  that  Synod  had 
erred  greatly  when  she  refused  to  cooperate  with  the  United 
Presbyterian  assembly.  And  the  writer  now  believes  that  if 
the  two  churches  had  worked  together  in  getting  out  a  new 
book  they  both  would  have  had  a  much  better  Psalter  than 
either  has  to-day.  Moreover,  there  is  so  much  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  book  now  in  use, 
probably  the  work  will  all  have  to  be  done  over  again  ere- 
long. Besides,  the  church  should  not  be  satisfied  with  a 
version  so  full  of  imperfections. 

During  the  months  of  February  and  March  this  year  I 
spent  much  time  in  the  study  of  the  doctrine  of  the  atone- 
ment and  gave  a  series  of  discourses  on  the  subject  emphasiz- 
ing the  statement  that  it  is  limited  and  that  all  are  saved  by 
the  power  of  the  divine  Redeemer  for  whom  he  made  atone- 
ment. No  truth  taught  in  all  God's  words  is  more  important 
than  that  of  the  atonement,  and  the  study  of  this  theme  is 
the  most  delightful  and  profitable.  It  will  occupy  the 
minds  of  the  redeemed  and  of  angels  as  long  as  heaven's 
school  shall  continue,  Jesus  the  loving  and  everlasting 
Teacher.  "So  shall  we  be  forever  with  the  Lord."  This 
series  was  followed  by  a  sermon  on  the  text:  "Work  out 
your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling, "  etc. 

The  outlines  of  that  discourse  had  been  written  in  my 
journal  or  sermon-book  on  Saturday  morning.  The  book 
lay  open  where  I  had  been  writing  and  left  a  blank  page. 
While  I  was  out  of  my  study  our  older  daughter,  Rosie,  then 
not  quite  three  years  old,  went  into  the  room,  took  my  pen. 


BLOODY   SCENES.       NATIONAL   REFORM.  365 

and  on  the  blank  page  made  all  kinds  of  marks,  blots,  and 
scratches,  no  doubt  supposing  that  she  was  imitating  her 
father's  hand.  When  after  her  departure  I  returned  to  my 
table  and  saw  the  child's  effort  at  sermon  writing  I  made  a 
note  of  it  thinking  that  in  coming  years  she  might  read  it: 
"She  thought  she  would  finish  my  notes. (?)  I  hope  she 
will  write  in  more  intelligible  hieroglyphics  when  she 
becomes  a  grown  girl.  And  if  her  eye  should  perchance 
fall  upon  this  page  years  hence  and  after  her  father  has  been 
removed  from  earth,  she  will  see  how  great  advancement  she 
shall  have  made,  as  well  as  an  illustration  of  the  many  little 
annoyances  to  which  children  subject  their  parents.  And 
let  the  blotches  made  on  her  father's  book,  and  which  can 
not  be  removed,  remind  her  of  the  nature  of  sin  in  the  soul. 
vS tains  made  there  can  be  removed  only  by  a  divine  process. 
The  blood  of  Jesus  alone  can  remove  the  blots  which  sin 
makes  on  the  pages  of  our  hearts.  And,  blessed  be  God,  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  docs  cleanse  us  from  all  sin. 
Moreover,  as  Rosie's  father  has  fully  and  freely  forgiven  his 
daughter,  and  will  soon  forget  the  little  misdemeanor,  so 
God,  our  Father,  freely  and  fully,  for  Christ's  sake,  forgives 
all  our  iniquities." 

Within  a  month  after  this  record  I  made  another  of  per- 
haps equal  triviality  to  the  reader  but  quite  serious  to  the 
writer  at  the  time:  "Sold  my  horse  (Charlie)  to-day.  I  was 
very  loath  to  part  with  him  for  he  is  a  gentle,  kind,  and  trusty 
horse;  and  I  have  had  him  so  long  as  to  become  attached  to 
him.  But  I  am  in  debt,  and  while  living  on  so  low  a  salary 
I  see  no  way  of  being  able  to  keep  a  horse,  the  expenses 
being  fifty  or  sixty  dollars  a  year.  'It  is  no  sin  but  it  is 
inconvenient  to  be  poor.'  "  Not  long  afterwards  my  favorite 
Charlie  was  sold  to  go  into  the  army  and  became  the  property 
of  a  Union  colonel.  I  never  heard  more  of  him  but  I  always 
hoped  that  no  rebel  shot  or  shell  ever  killed  him. 


366  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

During  the  second  week  of  May  the  Orange  County 
Teachers'  Institute  was  held  in  Topsham  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Hon.  J.  S.  Adams,  secretary  of  the  State  Board 
of  Education.  He  was  assisted  by  Mr.  Edward  Conant. 
They  both  were  our  guests  at  the  parsonage  during  the  days 
of  the  institute,  and  we  had  a  good  time.  Mr.  Adams  was 
an  exceedingly  companionable  man  as  well  as  a  fine  educator. 
Among  all  the  distinguished  men  in  the  Department  of  Edu- 
cation that  I  have  ever  known  he  was  the  best  qualified  for 
the  place  he  occupied.  Remarkable  for  his  accuracy,  energy, 
vivacity,  executive  ability,  and  "snap,"  and  power  to  awaken 
enthusiasm  in  the  teachers,  it  seemed  as  though  he  had  them 
under  his  own  cojitrol.  As  state  superintendent  I  could  not 
forget  him;  but,  alas!  that  same  man  whom  I  admired  so 
greatly  and  to  whom  I  became  much  attached,  after  the 
lapse  of  a  good  many  years  became  a  victim  of  appetite  for 
strong  drink  and  lost  his  high  position.  "How  are  the 
mighty  fallen!" 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
Sad  Events  and  Dark  Shadows. 

My  second  going  to  Washington  City  was  occasioned  by 
sad  news  from  the  seat  of  war.  I  had  gone  from  home  to 
attend  Presbytery  and  Synod,  the  latter  to  meet  in  Phila- 
delphia. Soon  after  reaching  New  York  I  received  a 
telegram  from  Elder  Josiah  DivoU  asking  me  to  hasten  on 
to  Washington  and  to  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  to  look  after 
his  son  Charles  who  had  been  severely  and  perhaps  fatally 
wounded  in  one  of  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness.  I  started 
by  the  first  train  for  Washington.  I  spent  almost  two  days 
there  endeavoring  to  find  out  where  Corporal  Divoll  was. 
I  became  sure  that  the  wounded  soldier  had  not  been 
brought  to  any  of  the  hospitals  in  Washington  which  at  that 
time  was  full  of  hospitals  and  these  crowded  with  sick, 
wounded,  and  dying  soldiers;  and  I  ascertained  that  he  was 
not  in  Alexandria  whose  hospitals  also  were  crowded.  Then 
I  determined  to  go,  if  pos.sible,  to  Fredericksburg,  to  search 
for  the  wounded  soldier;  but  after  persistent  efforts  I  found 
that  I  could  not  possibly  obtain  a  pass,  so  strict  were  the 
military  rules.  In  sadness  of  heart,  therefore,  I  could  do 
nothing  but  return  to  Synod.  During  its  sessions  I  took 
daily  and  full  reports  which  were  printed  in  the  Philadelphia 
Inquirer  and  sent  throughout  the  church.  On  the  Sabbath 
and  on  the  invitation  of  my  friend  William  Still  I  was 
permitted  to  address  a  large  mission  Sabbath-school  among 
the  colored  people. 

I  had  not  been  home  long  until  Elder  Divoll  received  word 

(367) 


368  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

from  the  chaplain  of  the  regiment  that  Corporal  Divoll  was 
in  a  hospital  in  Alexandria  and  probably  in  a  dying  condition. 
The  father  again  came  and  begged  me  to  go  to  his  son  for 
he  (the  father)  could  not.  I  hastened  to  Washington  and 
to  the  office  of  the  Vermont  Commission  where  I  found  the 
name  of  Charles  Divoll  on  the  list  of  the  dead.  He  had 
died  probably  only  a  few  hours  before.  Hoping  to  reach 
Alexandria  before  the  burial  I  hastened  down  the  Potomac 
and  on  to  Wolf  Street  Hospital,  and  to  the  office  of  the  sur- 
geon to  inquire  about  the  body  of  Corporal  Divoll.  The 
surgeon  replied:  "He  is  buried.  We  have  just  come  from 
his  grave."  My  heart  sank  within  me.  At  first  I  had 
hoped  to  see  that  dear  young  man  before  his  death,  but  I  was 
too  late.  Going  to  the  soldiers'  cemetery  out  on  the  west 
side  of  the  city,  1  found  the  newly-made  grave.  Standing 
alone  where  lay  the  body  of  one  whom  so  many  loved,  I  had 
only  tears  of  sorrow  to  shed — sorrow  that  the  light  of  a 
young  man  so  promising  had  gone  out. 

Returning  to  the  hospital  I  went  to  the  nurse  who  had 
charge  of  the  wounded  soldier  and  was  with  him  after  he 
had  been  brought  to  the  hospital  at  Alexandria  until  the 
time  of  his  death.  He  told  me  that  Corporal  Divoll  was  in 
almost  a  dying  condition  when  he  was  brought  to  the 
hospital.  In  his  last  hours  he  repeated  Scripture  verses  and 
what  the  nurse  called  "a  hymn."  I  asked  if  he  (the  nurse) 
remembered  what  hymn  it  was.  He  remembered  only  some 
words  or  what  it  was  about.  I  knew  at  once  that  it  was  the 
twenty-third  Psalm.  Thus  died  Charles  Divoll,  an  honorable 
young  man,  a  worthy  son  of  a  most  excellent  Covenanter 
elder,  and  a  young  disciple  of  Christ  that  might  have  fol- 
lowed the  Master  into  some  Macedonian  land  if  he  had  been 
called  of  God.  I  loved  him  as  one  of  the  flock  that  the 
Good  Shepherd  had  put  under  my  care;  but  I  was  ever  sad 
when  I  remembered  that  he  gave  his  life  ' '  for  the  Union  and 


' 

1  ,^3P    ^^fse^    m 

\M-,f 

^^watfal^o*' ^j^B 

h 

^^^^Sj^  '*f  ^ 

^^^           '/  • 

w 

^^^L  Wgt^^^^ 

* 

Corporal  Charles  Divoll 


SAD  EVENTS  AND  DARK  SHADOWS.         369 

the  Constitution ; ' '  yet  I  could  wipe  away  my  tears  when  I 
remembered  that  that  war,  unrighteously  waged  by  slave- 
holders, had  b}^  the  right  hand  of  the  Almighty  brought 
libert}^  to  the  captives. 

Charles  Divoll  was  a  brave  soldier.  On  my  way  home  I 
stopped  in  Philadelphia  and  visited  the  army  hospitals  at 
Germantown  and  there  received  information  from  one  of  his 
fellow-soldiers;  and  years  afterward  the  story  was  told  to  me 
])y  Deacon  Mclvam  who  was  standing  near  to  Corporal 
Divoll  at  the  time  he  was  wounded.  The  Union  soldiers 
were  standing  in  Hne  and  fighting  under  the  heavy  fire  of  the 
enemy.  A  rebel  ball  struck  Divoll  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
forehead.  It  bled  profusely  but  he  wiped  away  the  blood  and 
contiiuied  his  firing.  Soon  afterwards  another  ball  struck 
him  in  the  groin  and  made  a  fearful  gash  and  shattered  the 
iMjne  in  that  region.  He  was  carried  off  the  field  of  battle 
and  laid  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  to  be  cared  for  b}-  some  one, 
and  the  battle  went  on.  The  rebels  won  the  fight  or  at  least 
took  po.s.session  of  the  ground,  and  Corporal  Divoll  fell  into 
their  hands.  Subsequently  the  Union  forces  regained  pos- 
.session  of  that  lost  ground  and  the  wounded  soldier  fell  into 
the  hands  of  his  friends  and  was  removed  first  to  Fredericks- 
l)urg  and  then  to  Alexandria.  How  much  he  suffered  dur- 
ing those  long  fifteen  days  and  nights  when  no  friend  could 
minister  to  him,  can  only  be  supposed,  for  no  one  has  ever 
told  the  sad  story.  Yet  well  do  I  remember  what  the  sur- 
geon and  nurse  in  the  Wolf  Street  Hospital  told  me — that 
'  'after  his  death  the  brains,  in  large  quantit}^  oozed  out  of  the 
fractured  skull."  This  illustrates  the  truth  of  what  Corporal 
Smith,  of  the  same  company,  said  to  me  in  the  hospital  in 
Washington:  "There  was  no  braver  soldier  in  his  regiment 
than  Corporal  Divoll." 

It  was  during  one  of  these  times  while  I  was  in  Washing- 
ton that  I  had  an  opportunity  of  meeting  President  Uincoln. 
24 


370  LOOKING    BACK    FKOM    THK    .SUNSKT    I  AND. 

I  would  have  known  him  anj'where  l)y  the  similarity  l:)etween 
his  pictures  and  his  real  face.  It  was,  indeed,  the  face  of  an 
"honest"  man  though  perhaps  not  so  intellectual  as  kind. 
But  his  countenance  was  sad.  No  wonder.  The  burden  of 
a  great  nation  was  resting  upon  him;  and  all  eyes  were 
turned  towards  him.  And  now  after  the  battles  of  the 
Wilderness  Washington  was  a  vast  liospital  and  the  whole 
land  in  mourning;  and  the  great  heart  of  Abraham  Ivincoln 
was  bleeding  for  his  countr}-. 

Our  summer  communion  occurred  shortly  after  my  return 
home  from  Alexandria.  On  the  Fridaj'  before,  at  the 
request  of  Polder  Divoll,  I  preached  a  sermon  appropriate 
to  the  death  of  his  son.  Many  people  were  there.  The 
text :  '  'Your  young  men  I  have  slain  with  the  sword . ' '  That 
the  loss  of  .so  many  3'oung  men  in  the  war  was  a  cause  of 
sorrow,  was  shown  from  three  facts:  They  are  so  numerous, 
so  many  of  them  are  unconverted,  and  the  converted  are  so 
much  needed.  I  was  anxious  to  use  the  occasion  for  the 
good  of  the  living,  and  so  the  hortatory  part  of  the  discourse 
was  addressed  principally  to  the  people  present.  A  few  words 
were  addressed  to  the  family  and  to  the  congregation,  thus: 
"To  the  father,  Remember  Jacob's  mi.stake  who,  when  he 
had  lost  two  sons,  said,  'All  these  things  are  against  me.' 
What  God  intends  by  bereaving  you  of  your  two  sons  w'e 
know  not  now;  we  may  know  hereafter.  Meanw^hile  be  a 
father  to  the  fatherless.  To  the  sisters,  Set  your  affection 
on  the  Elder  Brother.  Lean  on  him  through  life  and  he  will 
be  with  you  in  death.  To  young  men,  Be  strong  for  God. 
Stand  up  for  Jesus.  How  few  there  are  to  be  soldiers  of  the 
cross,  you  know.  One  after  another  they  fall  in  rapid  suc- 
cession. The  pious  fall.  Who  will  fill  their  place?  Prepare 
for  death.  'There  is  no  discharge  in  that  war.'  To  the 
church.  Our  ranks  are  being  thinned.  Our  young  men  are 
few.     Train  up  the  young  aright  that  we  may  yet  have  an 


SAD  EVENTS  AND  DARK  SHADOWS.         37 1 

army  of  strong  young  men,  ready  to  fight  valiantly  the  battles 
of  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

At  that  communion  I  was  assisted  by  licentiate  Robert 
Shields  and  by  missionary  Joseph  Beattie  then  on  a  visit 
home  from  Latakia,  Syria.  The  attendance  all  the  days  of  the 
feast  was  large  and  in  the  communion  service  there  were  four 
tables,  one  more  than  had  ever  been  before.  I  had  served 
the  first  and  dear  Brother  Beattie  followed  and  served  two. 
I  had  not  expected  a  fourth  and  so  had  to  perform  the  serv- 
ice extempore.  At  the  table  I  spoke  from  the  words  of 
Jesus:  "Having  loved  his  own  which  were  in  the  world  he 
loved  them  unto  the  end."  At  that  time  I  did  not  know  nor 
had  I  thought  of  the  probability  that  that  was  my  last  com- 
munion as  pastor  in  Topsham;  but  it  was,  though  months 
passed  before  that  question  required  my  attention.  On 
Monday  I  was  joyous,  for  we  had  had  a  sweet  season  of 
fellowship;  but  I  was  sad  because  of  the  troubles  through 
which  the  congregation  was  passing.  In  my  pastoral  address 
at  the  close  of  the  services  I  exhorted  the  people  to  this 
effect:  "Be  thankful.  Be  loyal  to  Christ  at  all  hazards. 
Neglect  not  the  ordinances.  Study  the  times  and  see  God 
in  all.  Don't  be  politicians.  Avoid  the  influences  of  the 
coming  presidential  campaign.  Be  prepared  for  trouble  and 
be  familiar  with  death.  Beware  of  sectarianism.  Avoid 
debt  on  the  church.  Be  liberal  alwa^'s.  Don't  try  to  see 
how  little  you  may  give  and  yet  belong  to  the  church. 
Avoid  loud  talking  in  the  church  (on  Sabbath).  Avoid 
sitting  in  prayer." 

At  the  close  of  the  religious  services  a  congregational 
meeting  was  held  in  which  it  was  resolved  to  take  steps  to 
pa}^  off  the  debt  on  the  church  and  to  increase  the  pastor's 
salary  one  hundred  dollars. 

During  the  summer  months  following  this  communion  I 
spent  all  the  time  I  could  spare  in  pastoral  visitations  and  in 


372  BOOKING   BACK    FROM    TIIIC    SUNSET    I.AND. 

visiting  the  public  schools.  At  this  time  most  of  the  teach- 
ers in  these  schools  were  young  women  who  had  been 
students  in  our  Topsham  normal  classes,  and  several  of 
them  were  Covenanter  girls.  It  was  very  pleasant  to  me, 
their  teacher  and  pastor,  to  see  .so  many  of  them  model  and 
successful  teachers. 

If  the  reader  be  a  parent,  or  if  a  poor  pastor  needing  or 
owning  a  cow,  he  may  read  some  brief  extracts  from  the 
journal  of  these  months. 

"Monda}',  July  ii.  Last  vSaturday  evening  a  farmer  was 
hauling  a  load  of  hay  along  the  top  of  a  distant  high  hill 
east  of  the  village.  PVom  our  house  the  load,  drawn  by  a 
hor.se,  seemed  to  be  moving  along  among  the  clouds,  or  in 
the  sky.  Rosie,  now  over  three  j-ears  old,  saw  it.  Suppos- 
ing the  object  to  be  up  in  the  sky,  and  being  so  high  and 
unlike  anything  she  had  ever  seen  before,  supposed  it  to  be 
God  ;  and  in  great  excitement  told  Mary,  her  little  .sister,  to 
'run  and  tell  mama  to  come  and  see  God.'  Mary  came 
running  and  cr^'ing  out,  'Come,  see  God  !  '  and  pointed  up 
to  the  moving  wagon  load  of  hay. 

"Some  time  ago  T  had  tried  to  teach  Rosie  a  primarj^ 
lesson  about  the  divine  Being,  telling  her  that  he  was 
up  in  heaven,  away, above  the  sky.  The  foregoing  incident 
shows  how  signally  I  had  failed  to  teach  her  what  God  is. 
I  hope  I  may  succeed  better  hereafter,  and  that  in  years  to 
come  the  Spirit  will  teach  mj^  dear  daughters  lohat  God  is. ' ' 

"Thursda}',  Augu.st  4.  This  evening  I  was  visited  by 
Mr.  Duncan  Stewart  and  Mr.  William  Morrison,  who  made 
us  a  present  of  fortj^-three  dollars,  stating  that  it  had  been 
collected  to  buy  us  a  cow,  but  that  b}^  our  bu3'ing  a  cow  we 
had  prevented  them  from  giving  us  a  surprise  with  a  cow. 
The  money  was  in  good  season,  as  we  are  in  danger  of  embar- 
rassment if  the  times  continue.  We  have  been  fearing  debt. 
God  has  thus  relieved  us  of  fear.     To  him  be  the  praise." 


SAD  KVENTS  AND  DARK  SHADOWS.         373 

Having  an  appointment  at  Fayston  on  Sabbath  the  14th, 
and  as  I  always  enjoyed  the  company  of  young  men, 
especially  of  pious  and  brainy  students,  I  invited  m}^  friend, 
Robert  McNiece,  to  be  my  traveling  companion  with  the 
design  of  taking  in  Camel's  Hump  on  our  way.  This  is  a 
somewhat  remarkable  peak  in  the  Green  Mountain  Range 
and  not  far  south  of  the  only  higher  part  of  the  range,  viz., 
the  Mansfield  Mountain.  We  drove  our  own  horse  and 
buggy  the  first  day  and  stopped  overnight  at  a  hotel  (Rid- 
le)^'s)  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  After  returning  home 
I  made  the  following  record  of  our  ascent :  "After  breakfast 
Robert  and  I  set  out  for  the  mountain.  We  took  our  horse 
and  buggy  two  miles  over  a  tolerably  good  road.  Leaving  the 
buggy  we  saddled  the  horse  and  rode  and  walked  time  about 
to  near  the  top  of  the  mountain.  At  the  end  of  the  forest 
and  at  the  foot  of  the  ledge,  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of 
the  tip-top,  is  a  small  house  in  which  a  familj^  lives  to  pre- 
pare meals  for  visitors.  The  top  of  the  mountain  is  a  won- 
derful place.  It  lifts  its  head,  sharp,  high  and  craggy'T'up 
into  the  clouds.  The  precipice  on  the  south  end  of  'the 
hump'  is  perpendicular  and  several  hundred  feet  high. 

"After  spending  an  hour  or  two  here  among  the  clouds  and 
rocks  we  descended,  dined,  and  went  on  our  way  to  Fa3'Ston." 

"Friday,  September  9.  Last  evening  I  heard  the  painful 
intelligence  that  Mr.  S.  Mills  had  taken  the  oath  of  natural- 
ization, and  the  freeman's  oath,  and  had  voted  at  the  late 
election.  For  this  news  I  was  partly  prepared.  But  I  am 
sad,  as  he  is  a  deacon  and  a  leading  member  of  the  congre- 
gation. Ever  since  the  war  began,  he  has  been  inclined  to 
become  a  citizen,  and  some  time  ago  filed  his  intention  to 
become  one.  He  is  lost  to  the  church.  1  feel  very  sad  in 
\'iew  of  this  defection.  The  deacon  is  gone  to  the  war.  Two 
of  our  finest  young  men  are  away  in  college,  and  the  congre- 
gation is  very  small  and  weak." 


374  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    I.AND. 

"Saturday,  October  22.  Yesterday  I  visited  Father  Kee- 
tian  and  opened  my  heart  to  liim  as  to  my  leaving  Topsham 
congregation.  The  result  of  the  consultation  was  a  confir- 
mation of  my  fears  that  I  can  not  remain  much  longer.  I 
expect  another  interview  with  him  to-night.  The  Redeemer 
alone,  however,  can  show  me  the  way  I  should  go.  I  have 
sought  his  guidance  and  only  wait  to  know  his  will." 

At  the  next  meeting  of  Presl)ytery  I  petitioned  for  a  disso- 
lution of  the  pastoral  relation.  I  do  not  now  remember  the 
reasons  assigned.  In  my  diary  under  the  date  of  Novem- 
ber 4,  I  find  only  this  brief  record:  "My  petition  to  Pres- 
bytery for  a  dissolution  was  not  granted.  No  favor  was 
showai  to  it.  One  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  were  added  to 
my  salary.  I  returned  home  to  find  that  God  had  been 
kind  to  my  family  in  answer  to  prayer.  And  now  my  peti- 
tion to  God  my  Saviour  is  that  I  may  have  every  requisite 
grace  given  to  rightly  discharge  my  personal  and  official 
duties,  and  that  he  would  give  me  success  in  my  labors." 

Submitting  to  the  will  of  Presbytery  I  returned  home 
and  continued  my  work  as  before  though  under  many  dis- 
couragements that  were  multiplying  every  month.  Mean- 
while the  war  continued  to  rage  and  the  result  yet  was 
uncertain,  so  terribly  did  the  rebels  fight.  The  administra- 
tion had  made  great  advancement  in  the  manner  of  con- 
ducting it.  No  more  fugitive  slaves  were  returned  to  rebel 
masters,  and  there  were  not  so  many  fugitives  from  the 
border  and  loyal  states  as  before  the  war,  and  when  any 
did  escape  it  w^as  far  more  difficult  to  capture  them.  Slaves 
escaping  this  way  from  the  rebel  states  and  getting  within 
the  lines  of  the  Union  armies  were  taken  as  recruits;  and 
colored  men  in  the  north  were  enlisted  as  volunteers.  The 
Abolitionists  everywhere  rejoiced  in  these  changes.  They 
caused  a  very  strong  hope  that  the  God  of  armies  would 
give  the  victory  to  the  north  and  that  universal  emancipa- 


SAD  EVENTS  AND  DARK  SHADOWS.         375 

tion  would  in  some  way  result,  though  as  yet  it  did  not 
appear  how  freedom  could  come  to  the  half  million  slaves 
in  the  loyal  states.  Meanwhile  Abraham  lyincoln  was 
reelected  to  the  presidency  by  such  a  majority  that  gave  all 
people  to  understand  that  the  war,  as  now  beginning  to  be 
conducted,  would  not  cease  until  the  slaveholders'  rebellion 
would  be  subdued. 

On  Thanksgiving  day  I  preached  from  the  text,  2  Kings 
II  :  12.  "And  he  [the  high  priest]  gave  him  [the  king 
being  inaugurated]  the  testimou}',"  /.  e.,  the  law%  or  the 
Pentateuch,  the  only  Bible  as  yet.  The  doctrine:  It  is  the 
dut}'  of  the  church  and  ministry  to  demand  of  the  state 
and  the  civil  magistrate,  or  the  government,  obedience  to 
the  law  of  God.  It  led  to  the  consideration  of  the  duties  of 
the  government  at  the  time — duties  that  in  times  of  war  and 
revolution  we  should  demand  of  civilians  and  statesmen,  e.  g., 
that  the  Federal  Constitution  be  made  so  that  the  nation  will 
have  a  God,  a  Mediatorial  King,  a  Bible,  a  religion.  Chris- 
tian rulers,  and  liberty  for  all.  God's  voice  now  demands 
this.  The  old  Constitution  is  disannulled,  and  the  people 
vote  for  a  better.  In  the  Baltimore  Platform  they  say:  "We 
are  in  favor  of  such  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  as 
shall  terminate  and  forever  prohibit  the  existence  of  slavery." 
God's  voice  demands  that  every  yoke  be  broken  and  all  the 
oppressed  go  free;  that  no  compromise  be  made  with  the 
slaveholding  rebels  nor  they  be  allowed  to  return  to  the 
Union  -except  as  free;  and  that  all  men  shall  be  equal  before 
the  law. 

This  discourse  was  preached  three  months  before  the 
second  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln  and  when  no  one 
could  know  how  the  war  would  result  or  what  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington  would  do  provided  the  Rebellion  should 
be  put  down. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

In   vSad   Straits   and   Sadder    Partings. 

Shortly  before  Thanksgiving  I  had  received  letters  from 
some  of  the  Geneva  College  Board  inquiring  whether  I  could 
be  induced  to  go  to  Northwood  to  take  charge  of  the  institu- 
tion provided  I  would  be  invited  by  the  Board.  I  had  re- 
plied that  possibly  I  could  provided  circumstances  would  be 
favorable  and  if  the  inducements  were  sufficiently  strong. 
The  circumstances  that  led  to  this  correspondence  are  not 
known  now  except  to  a  very  few  who  at  th  .t  time  were 
conversant  with  college  matters.  The  institution  was  deeply 
involved  in  debt.  In  the  progress  of  the  war  the  .<-tudents 
had  nearly  all  enl'sted  in  the  army,  the  college  was  now 
closed  entirely  and  the  institution  suspended  indefinitely. 
The  property  being  in  private  ownership  and  with  almost 
no  prospect  of  a  revival  of  the  school,  it  was  in  danger  of 
being  sold  under  the  sheriff's  hammer.  The  United  Presby- 
terians were  ready  to  buy  the  property  if  sold  by  the  sheriff. 
The  Covenanters,  the  friends  of  the  institution,  were  grieved 
at  the  fear  that  it  might  pass  out  of  the  control  of  the  church. 
But  the  debt  was  so  heavy  there,  was  no  prospect  of  the 
property  being  held  unless  the  school  would  be  opened  again, 
and  of  this  there  was  no  prospect.  The  date  of  the  sheriff's 
sale  had  been  fixed.  The  parties  who  had  opened  the 
correspondence  with  me  and  who  knew  of  the  scholarship  of 
Mrs.  Johnston  and  of  her  reputation  as  a  teacher,  were  wait- 
ing to  hear  my  reply.  They  had  assured  me  that  if  we 
w^ould  go  and  open  the  school  without  de^ay,  the  property 

(376) 


IN   SAD   STRAITS    AND    SADDER    PARTINGS.  377 

would  not  be  sold.  As  the  time  fixed  for  the  sheriff's  sale 
was  near  at  hand  the  correspondence  now  had  to  be  by 
telegraph.  I  wired  our  acceptance  and  intention  to  go  soon; 
and  so  the  sale  was  arrested.  I  made  this  decision  in  the 
confident  hope  that  when  Presbytery  would  learn  the  facts 
both  at  North  wood  and  in  Topsham,  my  request  to  be  re- 
leased from  my  pa.storal  charge  would  be  granted;  and  in 
this  hope  I  sent  my  petition  to  Presbytery  that  the  pastoral 
relation  might  be  dissolved.  If  I  erred  in  promising  to  go  to 
Northwood  before  obtaining  Presbytery's  consent,  my  apology 
was  in  the  peculiar  circumstances  as  narrated  above.  Be- 
sides, even  the  urgency  of  the  call  to  go  to  save  the  college 
from  being  lost  to  the  church  would  not  have  induced  me  to 
leave  my  charge  and  home  in  Topsham  if  for  reasons  not 
3'et  stated  I  had  not  become  so  discouraged,  probably  sin- 
fully, that  I  was  almost  ready  to  ask  a  second  time  to  be  re- 
lea.sed.  When  at  this  time  the  unexpected  call  came  from 
Northwood  I  believed  it  was  my  duty  to  go.  Among  dis- 
couragements in  Topsham  these  may  be  mentioned:  the  war 
had  taken  away  so  many  of  the  young  men,  some  of  them 
being  sons  of  the  church  and  others  members  by  their  own 
profe.ssion;  and  the  congregation  was  growing  weaker  though 
the  number  was  kept  up  by  the  addition  mostly  of  women. 
A  member  of  the  congregation  who  had  been  tried  by  the 
session  for  a  violation  of  the  rules  of  the  church  in  the  use  of 
rum  and  in  suf^plying  it  to  his  co  workers  in  the  harvest- 
field,  would  not  confess  his  fault  and  so  was  under  suspen- 
sion. On  the  other  hand  one  of  the  elders,  who  used  the 
rum  supplied,  confessed  his  fault  and  submitted  to  censure. 
The  defection  and  the  expected  departure  of  Deacon  Mills, 
who  was  a  man  of  much  influence  and  who  I  feared  might 
sow  bad  seed  in  the  congregation,  had  much  influence  on 
my  mind. 

Moreover,  the  pastor's  .salary  was  so  small  that  we  could 


37^     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

scarcely  "make  ends  meet,"  and  the  people,  nearly  all  of 
whom  were  poor  or  in  very  moderate  circumstances,  were 
unable  to  pay  what  was  necessary  for  our  support  except 
in  straitened  circumstances.  The  Presbytery  had  supple- 
mented the  salary  so  long  I  feared  some  might  be  tired  of  it. 
By  one  not  knowing  the  character  of  the  community  nor  the 
personnel  of  the  congregation,  the  pastor  might  be  adjudged 
to  be  inefficient,  and  so  my  pride  was  touched.  But  the 
most  discouraging  fact  was  that  two  of  the  elders  had  become 
alienated  in  consequence  of  a  strife  originating  in  some 
business  matters.  The  other  elder  and  the  pastor  labored 
earnestly  to  bring  back  a  reconciliation  and  brotherly  love, 
but  failed.  Our  meetings  of  session  were  not  marked  by 
love  and  harmony  as  in  times  bygone.  I  lost  heart  for  I 
saw  little  prospect  of  a  return  of  former  fraternal  love.  But 
I  had  determined  to  resign  my  charge  and  notify  the  con- 
gregation of  it,  however  painful  the  duty.  In  my  diary  of 
December  9  I  find  the  following  entry:  "  I  have  petitioned 
Presbytery  for  a  disjunction  which  I  confidently  expect. 
The  trial  of  .separation  from  this  people  will  be  great.  Long 
have  they  been  endeared  to  me  by  the  holiest  ties.  But  my 
work  here  seems  to  be  done. ' ' 

I  regretted  that  I  would  have  to  depart  before  my  exposition 
of  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  were  complete.  My  interest  in 
them  had  grown  from  the  fir.st.  I  had  seen  how  justly  he 
had  been  called  "the  evangelical  prophet."  The  last  lec- 
ture was  on  the  last  paragraph,  verses  17-25,  of  the  sixty- 
fifth  chapter  As  the  book  had  not  been  finished  I  was 
reminded  of  the  elder's  good  wife  who  had  expressed  her 
fears  when  I  began  the  difficult  work  of  the  exposition  of 
the  book. 

Reviewing  my  journal  for  the  months  previous  to  m}'  de- 
parture, I  see  that  nearly  all  my  sermons  were  from  texts 
tending  to  awaken  sinners  or  to  strengthen  and  comfort  the 


■  iN    SAD    STRAITS    AND    SADDER    PARTINGS.  379 

disciples.  On  the  Sabbath  before  the  last,  the  text  was: 
"Escape  for  thy  life;  look  not  behind  thee  "  On  the  last 
Sibbath,  in  the  forenoon:  "  We  shall  all  stand  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ  "  In  the  afternoon  the  farewell 
sermoi  was  from  2  Cor.  13:  :i.  "  Finally,  breth  en,  fare- 
well. Be  perfect,  be  of  good  comfort, ' '  etc.  The  valedictory 
was  to  the  brethren  in  Christ,  to  the  aged,  to  parents,  to  the 
youth,  to  the  elders  and  to  the  entire  congregation.  On 
Monday,  the  last  day  before  departure,  the  following  entry 
was  made:  ' '  Yesterday  I  preached  in  sadness  to  a  large  congre- 
gation. O  that  I  could  have  been  spared  the  severe  task  of 
preaching  my  farewell  sermon  to  a  people  so  good  and  so 
affectionate.  To-morrow  I  am  to  bid  adieu  to  these  loved 
scenes,  the  grave  of  Eliza,  these  dear  brethren,  and  these 
places  of  sweet  communion." 

On  Tuesday  morning,  December  13,  1865,  we  said  good- 
by  to  many  dear  friends,  gave  up  the  keys  of  the  parsonage, 
and  took  our  last  look  at  the  dear  old  church  whose  bell  had 
summoned  us  so  often  to  the  worship  of  God  and  to  the 
fellowship  of  his  dear  saints.  Good  friends  drove  us  in 
their  sleighs  to  Bradford  and  we  were  soon  on  the  train  for 
Springfield,  Mass.,  and  thence  to  Belle-Centre  and  North- 
wood,  Ohio.  There  were  five  of  us,  husband  and  wife  wnth 
our  two  little  children,  and  our  sister  Almira  Rogers  who 
had  been  with  us  in  Topsham  a  short  time  as  a  member  of 
our  family  and  a  student  in  the  school.  On  the  way  I  had 
time  for  meditation  and  review.  I  was  not  joyous,  for  we 
had  left  behind  so  many  sacred  recollections  and  were  going 
we  knew  not  whither.  The  geography  of  the  place  we 
knew,  but  what  reception  we  would  meet  and  what  would 
be  our  success  in  resurrecting  a  dead  literary  institution, 
who  could  tell  us?  In  this  sense  we  were  going  to  a  land  we 
knew  not  of. 

In  turning  my  back  upon  a  field  in  which  I  had  labored 


380      tOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

about  thirteen  years — a  field  I  loved  and  a  work  I  loved — ■ 
and  fearing  lest  I  might  be  making  a  great  mistake  in  what 
I  was  doing,  I  know  I  was  not  very  joyous  nor  very  hope- 
ful. Reflecting  upon  the  work  of  those  past  3^ears  I  knew 
I  had  much  satisfaction,  and  I  kno\v  I  \vas  thankful  for 
what  God  had  wrought.  When  I  took  charge  of  the  con- 
gregation it  had  Ijeen  destitute  of  a  pastor  for  twentj'-five 
years,  the  majority  of  the  members  were  old  people,  and 
most  of  these  were  women.  I  regarded  the  place  as  little 
more  than  a  mission  field.  During  its  occupancy  I  learned 
to  love  aged  people  more  than  ever  before;  and  the  memor}^ 
of  those  dear  women  from  whom  I  learned  so  much,  to 
whom  I  so  often  broke  the  bread  of  life,  with  whom  on  their 
death-bed  I  had  so  man}'  sweet  seasons  of  communion,  and 
whose  bodies  I  followed  to  the  grave,  is  ver}^  precious. 
How  joyous  will  be  the  meeting  when  in  the  Father's  hou.se 
their  youth  and  mine  will  be  perennial.  During  the  same 
3'ears  many  others  in  youth  and  some  in  middle  life  were 
removed  to  their  heavenh^  home.  Only  two  or  three  w^ere 
removed  by  suspension.  During  the  entire  pastorate  about 
fift}^  persons  were  added  to  the  church  most  of  them  on 
examination  and  baptism  and  a  majority'  of  them  ^-oung 
people.  Thus  if  there  had  not  been  so  many  deaths,  besides 
numerous  removals,  the  roll  of  membership  would  have 
been  over  one  hundred.  If  He  whom  I  tried  to  serv^e  in 
humility  blessed  m}'  instrumeutality  for  the  salvation  of 
man}'  wdiose  names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life, 
let  Him  have  all  the  glory.     He  onl}^  is  their  Saviour. 


CHAPTER  Xh. 

A  Nkw  Home  and  New  Work. 

On  arrival  at  Northwood  we  found  an  empty  college  and 
cold  and  dreary  rooms  in  the  empty  and  almost  tumble- 
down seminary  building  which  we  were  expected  to  make 
our  habitation.  It  was  in  vexatious  contrast  with  the  beau- 
tiful cottage  parsonage  we  had  left  behind.  But  as  we  had 
not  made  the  change  for  the  sake  of  a  better  home  we 
hastened  to  prepare  for  our  work  as  teachers.  W^e  went  to 
that  little  village  not  for  its  sake  but  to  rescue  the  college, 
to  save  it  to  the  church,  and  to  revive  the  institution.  And 
as  this  could  be  done  only  by  making  a  beginning  and  by 
hard  work,  we  immediately  announced  by  a  circular  and  by 
advertisements  in  the  papers  that  on  a  certain  date  the 
"Geneva  Collegiate  Institute"  would  be  open  for  the  recep- 
tion of  students.  We  could  not  say  college,  for  there  was 
no  such  institution  unless  brick  and  mortar  make  a  college. 
Nor  had  we  a  Board  of  Trustees  at  our  back.  The  buildings 
were  offered  to  us  free  of  rent,  and  that  was  all  that  was 
done  to  help  lis.  It  was  mid- winter.  We  expected  little. 
But  the  sheriff's  hammer  had  not  been  heard  as  had  been 
feared,  and  now  a  beginning  must  be  made  even  though  the 
young  men  were  nearly  all  gone  to  the  war.  And  so  on  the 
morning  of  the  appointed  day,  January  lo,  1865,  the  old 
bell  was  rung.  It  had  been  silent  so  long  its  sound  almost 
startled  the  villagers  who  may  have  adjudged  us  revivalists 
crazy  who  would  think  of  awakening  into  life  a  dead  body 
that  had   not  had  even  a  decent  burial.     But  it  must  be 

(381) 


3S2  I^OOKING    BACK    KROM    THR)    SUNTSHT    L.\ND. 

attempted;  and  so  the  old  bell  rang  out  the  call  for  students 
to  assemble.  About  fifteen  came  the  first  morning,  and  we 
began  to  work.  The  next  morning  there  were  more;  but 
during  this  short  term  the  number  probabh^  did  not  exceed 
twenty.  It  was  a  wonder  even  to  ourselves  that  so  many 
came  then. 

During  this  short  winter  session  our  recitations  were  con- 
ducted in  the  rooms  of  the  seminary  building.  At  the 
opening  of  the  spring  term  we  met  in  the  college  and  the 
number  of  students  was  much  larger.  A  few  came  from 
other  parts  of  the  church,  and  a  few  boarders  were  received 
into  the  seminary  building.  We  were  busy  workers  and 
had  no  help  except  a  little  from  our  dear  sister  Almira  who 
was  also  a  student  in  college  and  hard  at  study.  The  second 
term  closed  with  two  days  of  examination  of  classes  and 
with  a  good  program  of  literary  exercises  on  the  evening  of 
the  last  da}'.  The  students  acquitted  themselves  so  honor- 
abl}'  we  were  greatly  encouraged .  The  institution  was  saved 
to  the  church,  and  between  the  clouds  that  had  been  dark  so 
long  there  were  some  bright  openings. 

During  these  first  months  of  college  work  the  bloody  scenes 
of  the  war  were  multiplying  and  the  nation  trembling  as  in 
the  balance,  though  the  preponderance  was  in  favor  of  the 
north.  Charleston  was  captured,  Richmond  was  evacuated 
by  General  Lee  and  occupied  by  colored  troops  of  the  Union 
Arm}',  Lee  surrendered,  and  other  Confederate  generals  soon 
afterwards.  Jefferson  Davis,  the  president  of  the  slave- 
holder's confederacy,  disguised  in  woman's  clothes,  was  cap- 
tured in  Georgia.  Peace  was  proclaimed  at  Washington, 
and  the  great  Civil  War  was  over.  Covenanters  rejoiced  with 
all  others,  and  no  wonder,  for  the}'  too  had  been  sufferers 
and  longed  for  peace  in  the  hope  that  it  would  be  followed 
by  universal  emancipation  as  it  finally  was.  The  war  lasted 
four  years  during  which  there  had  been  an  awful  holocaust 


A  NEW  home;  and  new  work.        383 

among  both  northern  and  southern  soldiers,  more  than  half  a 
million  in  all ;  and  it  left  the  United  States  with  a  debt  of 
more  than  two  billion  seven  hundred  million  dollars.  Five 
days  after  L,ee's  surrender  to  General  Grant,  President 
IJncoln  was  assassinated  while  sitting  in  a  theater  in  Wash- 
ington. This  was  followed  by  universal  excitement  and 
great  lamentation.  The  President  had  evidently  been  edu- 
cated during  the  war  to  a  higher  regard  for  human  freedom. 
If  he  had  not  been  bound  by  the  fetters  of  a  pro-slavery 
Constitution  and  slaveholding  Union  he  might  have  been 
an  Abolitionist,  for  he  was  a  man  of  a  tender  heart  and 
magnanimous  soul.  The  man  was  better  than  the  Constitu- 
tion and  government  to  which  he  was  sworn  to  be  loyal. 
But  he  erred  as  did  politicians  and  most  of  statesmen,  in 
being  governed  by  human  enactments  more  than  by  divine. 
For  this  the  whole  nation  was  punished  and  its  honored 
President  cut  down  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin.  Meanwhile 
I  had  attended  Synod  at  Utica  and  had  preached  frequently 
for  the  pastors  of  the  Fir.st  Miami  and  Rusheylvania  congre- 
gations. They  had  no  compassion  for  a  teacher  who  was 
already  overburdened  and  had  no  time  for  study  except  for 
the  class-room  unless  it  would  be  stolen  from  King  Morpheus 
who  always  punishes  poor  mortals  that  violate  his  laws. 

During  the  summer  vacation  we  attended  the  Ohio  State 
Teachers'  Convention  at  Cincinnati.  For  much  that  made 
that  occasion  pleasant  we  were  indebted  to  Brother  J.  U. 
McCartney,  the  pastor  in  North  wood.  During  the  days 
spent  in  the  "Queen  City"  Mrs.  Johnston  went  with  me  over 
into  Covington,  Ky.,  from  which  place  I  had  at  one  time 
helped  to  rescue  the  fugitive  slaves.  This  was  the  first  time 
.she  had  ever  set  her  foot  on  slave  soil.  And  I  must  not  for- 
get to  mention  that  one  night  during  the  state  convention  I 
enjoyed  the  company  of  my  old  friend,  Hugh  Gla.sgow,  in  a 
visit  to  the  great  observatory  on  Mount  Adams.     He  had 


384  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   .SUNSET   LAND. 

not  forgotten  our  rescue  of  the  slaves,  and  he  jocoseh^  called 
me  "nigger  thief."  That  good  Abolitionist  was  never 
ashamed  of  having  been  a  slave  emancipator. 

According  to  previous  arrangements,  during  the  summer 
vacation  we  had  a  normal  school,  or  a  large  class  of  normal 
students  who  either  were  teachers  or  preparing  to  teach  ;  and 
they  were  noble  yoiuig  men  and  women  who  afterwards 
l^ecame  honored  teachers.  During  this  brief  term  I  gave 
seven  or  eight  lectures  before  the  normal  class,  the  themes 
being  as  follows  :  The  Teacher's  Work,  (two  lectures) ;  Lit- 
erary Qualifications  of  the  Teacher;  Physiology  in  the 
Schools;  Music  in  the  Schools;  Personal  Habits  of  the 
Teachers;  Aptne.ss  to  Teach ;  and  How  to  Conduct  recitations. 
We  regarded  this  normal  school  a  success,  but  this  success 
was  due  largety,  I  am  sure,  to  my  "better  half,"  a  graduate 
of  New  York  Normal  School  and  ever  afterwards  a  deserv- 
edly popular  teacher. 

August  ist  being  the  anniversary  of  the  British  West  India 
emancipatic>n,  there  was  a  great  celebration  by  the  colored 
people  at  Urbana,  O.,  at  which  in  accordance  with  previous 
invitation  I  gave  an  address.  The  convention  was  very  large 
and  enthusiastic,  for  they  rejoiced  in  the  hope  that  in  the 
United  States  slavery  would  soon  be  no  more. 

At  the  late  Synod  in  May,  a  Board  of  Education  was 
appointed  consisting  of  Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan,  Rev.  T.  P. 
Stevenson,  Rev.  H.  P.  McClurkin,  Rev.  J.  Iv.  McCartney, 
and  four  elders.  They  were  instructed  "  to  confer  with  the 
present  owners  of  the  college  building  and  Female  Seminary 
at  Northwood  and  purchase  the  same  if  they  can  be  obtained 
on  reasonable  terms  and  free  from  all  claims  and  incum- 
brances, if  this  will,  in  their  judgment,  conduce  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  object  committed  to  them."  At  the  same 
meeting  Synod  took  action  towards  the  education  of  colored 
students.     The  language  of  the  resolution  is  this  :   "That  we 


A    NEW    HOME    AND    NEW   WORK.  3^5 

take  measures  for  establishing  a  school  in  which  talented 
colored  persons  may  receive  preparatory  training  for  the 
work  of  teaching  their  brethren  and  preaching  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  This  school  shall  be  under  the  control  of  a  Board 
elected  biennially  by  the  Synod,  consisting  of  four  ministers 
and  four  laymen  of  the  church,  who  shall  receive  instruction 
from  this  court  and  report  annually."  That  said  school  was 
designed  to  be  at  Northwood  does  not  appear  from  the  reso- 
lution, but  I  know  it  was  so  intended  provided  the  buildings 
could  be  purchased  by  the  church.  Another  resolution 
directed  the  Board  of  Missions  to  appeal  to  the  church  for 
pecuniary  aid ;  and  Synod  appointed  a  delegation  of  three 
ministers  and  an  elder  to  visit  Europe  and  to  solicit  funds  to 
assist  in  this  educational  scheme.  They  were  Rev.  S.  O. 
Wylie,  Rev.  J.  M.  Willson,  Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan  and  Elder 
John  Caldwell.  This  delegation  went  to  Europe  sometime 
during  the  following  summer  but  did  not  report  until  the 
next  Synod.  It  was  generally  understood,  however,  that 
very  little  money  was  raised. 

On  the  6th  of  August  following  the  Board  met  at  North- 
wood  to  carry  out  directions  of  Synod  and  among  other 
business  transacted  was  the  election  of  four'professors,  viz. 
J.  C.  K.  Milligan  of  New  York,  N.  R.  Johnston,  Professor 
Newell  of  Pittsburg,  and  Mrs.  R.  R.  Johnston. 

During  the  fall  and  winter  sessions  of  our  institute  the 
number  of  students  increased ;  they  were  of  a  superior  class 
of  youth  from  the  vicinity  and  from  distant  parts  of  the 
church  ;  and  we  were  much  encouraged  though  pressed  with 
hard  work  as  there  were  only  three  teachers  beside  the  music 
teacher.  During  the  winter  months  Mrs.  Johnston  taught 
in  the  college  chapel  a  very  large  class  in  vocal  music. 

Some  time  in  February,  1866,  the  Board  of  Educalion  met 
in  Allegheny,  Pa  ,  and  elected  Rev.  J.  C.  K.  Milligan  of 
New  York  as  president,  and  Professor  Stevenson,  principal 


386  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE;    SUNSET    LAND. 

of  the  High  School  of  Norwalk,  O.,  as  his  first  alternate,  and 
Rev.  D.  McAllister  of  Walton,  N.  Y.,  his  second  alternate. 
Rev.  Mr.  Milligan  did  not  accept  the  appointment.  Pro- 
fessor Stephenson  visited  Northwood  and  soon  after  return- 
ing home  sent  to  the  Board  his  non-acceptance.  He  was  of 
Covenanter  parentage  but  at  this  time  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  I  do  not  now  remember  what  was 
the  decision  of  the  second  alternate.  Nor  was  it  strange 
that  the  elected  did  not  accept  the  offered  positions.  They 
could  easily  see  that  it  would  be  no  easy  task  to  build  up  a 
literary  institution  that  had  been  dead  and  that  had  no 
endowment  and  no  rich  chiirch  to  furnish  the  needed  money 
or  patronage.  They  must  have  seen  that  it  would  take 
years  of  patient  toil  to  make  the  school  a  success,  and  years 
with  little  if  any  pecuniary  remuneration.  Besides,  a  factor 
in  the  problem  that  had  to  be  solved  must  have  been  seen  by 
all  of  them,  viz.,  the  social  and  ecclesiastical  atmosphere  ot 
Northwood  was  not  favorable  to  success;  and  not  a  few  saw 
that  for  other  reasons  that  village  was  not  the  proper  place 
for  a  college.  Meanwhile  all  these  things  which  indicated 
how  unsettled  the  affairs  of  the  institution  were  and  were 
likely  to  be,  operated  seriously  against  the  present  interests 
of  the  institution  which  as  yet  was  only  private.  We  desired 
it  and  expected  it  to  be  a  church  school,  but  we  were  dis- 
couraged by  the  action  and  the  inaction  of  the  Board  and 
others,  and  we  believed  that  if  the  school  had  been  left  in 
our  hands  without  interference  we  could  have  soon  made  it 
a  success.  But  the  church  needed  and  wished  a  denomi- 
national college,  and  to  this  end  we  wished  to  cooperate  with 
others  in  all  proper  effort.  One  of  the  greatest  hindrances 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  institution  was  the  presence  of  two 
rival  or  hostile  congregations  of  the  same  denomination. 
The  former  pastor  of  the  first  church  had  been  the  principal 
agent  in  founding  and   building   up  the   school.     He   had 


A    NEW    HOME    AND    NEW    WORK.  387 

opposed  the  organization  of  the  second  church  because  oi 
the  opposition  to  the  office  of  the  church  deacon;  and  so  the 
"anti-deacon  congregation"  with  an  "anti-deacon"  pastor, 
so  called,  did  not  cooperate  in  efforts  to  make  the  school  a 
success.  Such  was  the  fact  and  it  was  known  all  over  the 
church.  To  harmonize  these  hostile  forces  so  divided  on 
"the  deacon  question,"  was  the  aim  of  Synod  in  her  subse- 
quent action.  To  accomplish  this  end  the  friends  of  the 
college  thought  it  would  be  better  to  compromise  the  pres- 
ent teachers  than  to  fail  to  secure  the  favor  of  those  who 
had  withheld  their  favor  heretofore.  Meanwhile  we  could 
do  nothing  but  stand  at  our  post  of  labor  and  endeavor  to 
keep  the  school  in  good  working  order  until  it  would  become 
in  every  way  a  church  institution. 

As  other  duties  besides  teaching  were  devolved  upon  me 
sometimes  I  had  to  leave  my  classes  in  charge  of  others.  This 
was  done  twice  during  the  spring  season,  first  when  I  went  to 
Presbytery  and  afterwards  to  Synod.  As  I  had  been  trans- 
ferred from  New  York  Presbytery  to  that  of  the  I^akes,  and 
had  been  moderator  in  the  latter  during  the  past  year,  it 
devolved  upon  me  to  preach  the  opening  sermon  at  the 
spring  meeting.  This  was  held  in  Cedar  I^ake  congregation, 
Rev.  John  French  pastor.  The  sermon  was  from  the  text: 
I  Tim  4:  15.  "Give  thyself  wholly  to  them,"  and  was  a 
'■'Concio  ad  Clerum.''  This  attendance  upon  Presbytery 
gave  me  opportunity  to  visit  my  dear  old  fellow-student, 
Rev.  J.   French. 

Synod  met  this  spring  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.  I  was  glad  to 
be  able  to  attend  the  meeting;  and  I  expected  to  meet  at  it 
my  beloved  brother  R.  J.  Dodds  who  was  now  on  a  visit 
home  from  the  Syrian  Mission.  I  was  late  in  arriving  and 
was  not  present  until  he  had  been  chosen  moderator  and 
was  in  the  chair.  So  we  had  no  opportunity  to  meet  until 
after  the  forenoon  session.     As  soon  as  the  prayer  of  adjourn- 


388  LOOKING    HACK    I'KOM    TUK    SUN.SET    LAND. 

ment  was  concluded  I  hurried  up  to  the  platform  where  he 
made  his  way  past  others  and  met  me.  We  embraced  each 
other  and,  after  the  oriental  manner,  kissed  each  other. 
How  pleasant  is  brotherly  love;  besides,  it  is  deathle.ss. 

At  that  meeting  of  Synod  Rev.  Joseph  McCracken  was 
chosen  principal  of  "Geneva  Collegiate  Institute"  with 
power  to  employ  the  other  teachers.  What  were  the  motives 
of  Synod  in  taking  this  action  I  did  not  know  certainl}'  then, 
nor  do  I  now,  though  I  see  that  in  making  a  note  of  it  in  my 
journal  after  my  return  home  I  wrote  the  following  sentence 
aaiD  ig  others,  viz.:  '  His  election  was  owing  not  to  dissatis- 
faction with  us  as  teachers  or  managers  but  as  a  matter  of 
l^olicy,  party  spirit,  and  in  compromise."  If  I  could  have 
foreseen  what  has  transpired  since  that  time,  now  a  genera- 
tion ago,  I  might  not  have  written  as  I  did  then.  There 
may  have  been  much  dissatisfaction  with  the  principal, 
though  I  tlid  not  know  of  any,  but  I  know  that  with  the 
vice-principal,  Mrs.  Johnston,  there  could  be  none.  More- 
over, it  was  manifest  from  what  was  said  in  Synod  it  was  the 
design  and  expectation  that  the  principal  elect  would  retain 
the  teachers  now  in  the  school.  With  the  action  of  Synod, 
however,  we  were  dissatisfied.  We  saw  no  need  of  it,  but 
we  saw  what  we  feared  would  be  against  the  interest  of  the 
institution  as  a  school  for  the  education  of  colored  students, 
and  we  never  had  known  of  a  College  Board  that  gave  power 
to  a  president  to  fill  the  other  chairs  of  the  faculty;  and  so 
the  action  of  Synod  made  us  somewhat  restless. 

The  summer  session  of  college  closed  about  the  21st  of 
Jmic.  As  Synod  had  assigned  me  to  Pittsburg  Presbytery 
during  the  month  of  July,  we  resolved  to  visit  some  friends 
in  western  Pennsylvania  while  I  would  be  fulfilling  appoint- 
ments there.  On  our  wa}^  we  visited  my  oldest  brother, 
Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston,  now  pastor  of  the  United  Presb5'terian 
Church  in  St.  Clairsville,  O.     Here  I  left  my  family  for  two 


A   NKW    HOME   AND   NKW  WORK.  3^9 

Sabbaths  while  I  went  on  to  preach  as  per  appointments  at 
New  Alexandria  and  at  Clarksburg,  recently  made  vacant 
by  the  departure  of  Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan  to  the  new  organi- 
zation in  Pittsburg.    Returning  from  Clarksburg,  I  stopped 
at  Saltzburg  to  visit  my  aged  aunt,  Elizabeth  Robinson,  at 
her  home  there.     I  had  never  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
her.     She  was  the  only  surviving  sister  of  my  mother.     In 
honor  of  my  Uncle  Robert  Robinson  I  had    received  my 
middle  name,  and  I  knew  before  I  met  my  aunt,  for  I  had 
heard  much  of  her,  that  I  would  love  her;  and  I  did,  and 
had  a  precious  visit  with  her  and  with  her  children,  two  or 
three  families  of  them.     A  few  years  afterwards  I  visited 
her  again  several  times.     I  found  her  to  be  one  of  the  loveli- 
est Christian  women.     To  this  day  I  can  not  remember  of 
knowing  any  one  more  Christlike. 

After  this  visit  I  went  according  to  appointment  to  meet 
my  family  at  Rochester,  Pa.,  whence  we  went  to  New  Castle 
to  visit  my  old  and  long-tried  friend.  Dr.  Tidball. 

We  had  not  been  home  long  until  I  very  unexpectedly  re- 
ceived official  information  that  I  had  been  elected  president 
of  Franklin  College,  my  alma  mater.     The  war  had  taken 
away  so  many  students  and  had  so  affected  the  faculty  that 
the  president's  chair  was  vacant  and  the  institution  in  need 
of  special  efforts  looking  towards  revival.     Strong  influences 
were  brought  to  bear  upon  me,  but  after  prayerful  consider- 
ation I  did  not  feel  free  to  accept  the  position  offered,  and 
sent  my  declinature  to  the  Board  of  Trustees.     The  greatest 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  acceptance  was  the  fact  that  neither 
in  New  Athens  nor  near   to  it  was  there  any  Covenanter 
congregation.     Neither  of  us  could  consent,  even  under  the 
strong  inducements,  to  make  our  home  where  we  would  be 
isolated  from  the  church  we  loved  so  well.     Nor  were  we  the 
only  ones  concerned.     We  could  not   forget   that   our  two 
little  daughters,  if  spared,  would  be  in  such  environments 


390     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

as  would  tend  to  take  them  out  of  the  old  Covenanter  Church. 
This  and  our  daughters  we  loved  more  than  I  loved  my  alma 
mater;  and  we  never  regretted  my  decision. 

During  our  visit  at  New  Castle  numerous  friends,  includ- 
ing Rev.  Dr.  R.  Audley  Browne,  the  late  chaplain  of  the 
"Round-head"  regiment,  endeavored  to  persuade  us  to  go 
there  to  open  an  academy.  Accordingly  I  again  visited  that 
city,  surveyed  the  field,  and  returned  home  again.  We  lost 
no  time  in  giving  notice  of  our  intention  to  leave  North  wood 
and  to  remove  to  New  Castle.  On  the  i  ith  of  September 
we  opened  the  "New  Castle  Academy  and  Ladies'  Seminary" 
with  twenty-two  students  mostly  in  the  higher  branches. 
The  number  of  students  in  subsequent  terms  increased  until 
we  had  a  good  school  and  man}^  most  interesting  and  excel- 
lent 3^oung  men  and  young  women  most  of  whom  were  pre- 
paring to  enter  college  or  to  be  teachers  or  to  study  for  the 
professions.  The  community  was  eminently  moral  and  relig- 
ious except  the  foreign  population  employed  in  the  numer- 
ous iron  works.  Among  the  Protestant  churches  there  were 
two  Presbyterian,  Old  School  and  New,  a  large  congregation 
of  United  Presbyterians,  Dr.  Browne  the  pastor,  a  small 
"New  Light"  Covenanter  congregation.  Rev.  Theodore 
Wylie  pastor,  and  the  "Old  Light"  Covenanter,  Rev.  J.  C. 
Smith  pastor.  He  had  charge  of  the  two  other  "branches" 
besides,  so  that  he  preached  in  New  Castle  only  every  third 
Sabbath. 

During  that  autumn  and  winter  Mr.  James  Buck,  licen- 
tiate, was  engaged  in  teaching  near  the  city,  but  he  was  in 
such  feeble  health  that  he  did  not  wish  to  receive  Presby  terial 
appointments.  As  there  were  two  Covenanter  preachers 
there,  Pastor  Smith  invited  us  both  to  preach  in  his  pulpit 
the  Sabbaths  he  was  absent,  which  we  did,  so  that  the  people 
had  preaching  every  Sabbath.  As  I  had  some  appointments 
elsewhere  in  Pittsburg  Presbytery  I  had  little  time  to  rest. 


A  NEW  HOME  AND  NEW  WORK.  39I 

My  reward  was  in  the  hope  that  the  service  I  rendered 
would  not  be  in  vain.  The  service  that  Mr.  Buck  and  I 
rendered  was  gratuitous  and  to  help  both  the  pastor  and  the 
little  congregation.  In  a  few  jxars  they  became  able  to  call 
and  support  a  pastor  all  the  time. 

During  that  fall  and  winter  I  became  well  and  intimately 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Buck,  and  I  soon  learned  to  love  him; 
and  no  wonder,  for  he  was  indeed  a  lovable  man.  His  most 
prominent  natural  trait  was  amiability.  He  was  also  in- 
tellectual and  scholarly,  genial  and  sometimes  versatile. 
Though  sorely  afflicted,  for  he  was  a  marked  victim  of  con- 
sumption, he  was  always  cheerful;  and  I  can  not  doubt  that 
his  was  the  joy  of  the  Spirit.  Moreover,  he  was  an  excel- 
lent preacher.  He  had  clear  and  well-defined  perceptions  of 
truth  with  ability  to  express  it  in  good  style  though  not  very 
oratorical.  He  evidently  studied  to  be  clear  and  logical  in 
his  enunciations  of  truth,  so  that  as  a  preacher  he  was  both 
didactic  and  convincing.  He  loved  the  truth  and  dared  to 
express  it.  He  had  been  trained  in  the  Associate  Reformed 
Church,  but  becoming  convinced  of  the  truth  as  held  by 
the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  he  became  a  Covenanter 
and  continued  firm  in  his  attachment  to  our  distinctive 
principles  to  the  end.  When  the  spring  came  Mr.  Buck  was 
sent  by  the  Home  Board  as  a  missionary  or  stated  supply  to 
Elliota,  Minn.,  where  he  preached  with  such  acceptance  that 
he  was  called  as  pastor  and  continued  to  labor  as  such  to  the 
end  of  his  short  life.  If  the  Covenanter  Church  in  the 
United  States  ever  had  a  McCheyne,  he  was  James  Buck. 

Prior  to  our  going  to  New  Castle  I  had  only  a  slight  ac- 
quaintance with  Pastor  J.  C.  Smith.  During  our  residence 
there  I  became  well  and  intimately  acquainted  with  him  and 
soon  learned  to  prize  him  highly.  I  assisted  him  at  several 
communions  and  was  always  glad  to  help  him  in  active  labors 
in  any  way  possible.     In  the  pulpit  and  out  of  it,  at  home 


392      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

and  almost  everywhere  and  alwa^^s,  he  seemed  to  me  to  be 
an  IsraeUte  indeed  in  whom  was  no  guile.  As  his  residence 
at  Rose  Point  was  eight  miles  distant,  I  was  more  frequently 
thrown  into  the  society  of  the  pastors  in  New  Castle.  Rev. 
Theodore  Wylie  was  genial  and  very  companionable.  A 
bond  of  union  between  him  and  us  was  his  lovel}-  daughter 
who  was  one  of  our  students;  and  he  ever  acted  as  though 
he  thought  Old  School  Covenanters  were  as  good  as  the 
New — a  rare  attainment.  While  we  remained  in  New 
Castle  he  acceded  to  the  New  School  Presbyterian  Church 
and  became  pastor  of  the  second  Presb3'terian  congregation. 
Nearly  all  his  former  parishioners  followed  him.  In  this 
new  relation  he  was  the  successor  of  Rev.  A.  B.  Bradford, 
formerly  of  the  Free  Presbj^terian  Church  and  who  in  his 
later  j-ears  became  so  "broad-church"  in  his  religious  belief 
as  to  be  more  infidel  than  Christian. 

But  our  warmest  friend  and  most  beloved  was  Rev.  Dr. 
Browne,  the  same  who  had  been  so  kind  to  me  at  Beaufort, 
S.  C.  He  was  pastor  of  the  large  and  only  United  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  town.  Now  there  is  a  second.  This 
broke  off  from  the  old  because  they  believed  in  the  organ 
and  wanted  one  in  the  church.  Dr.  Browne  and  a  majority 
of  the  congregation  opposed  its  introduction,  and  the  result 
was  a  second  church  in  which  the  loud-sounding  wind 
instrument  leads  the  singers  or  makes  music  for  the  hearers. 

As  Dr.  Browne  yet  survives  and  is  still  a  pastor  and  active 
worker,  I  hesitate  to  write  freelj'  of  him;  but  as  the  writer 
will  soon  be  here  no  more,  I  can  not  withhold  my  testimony 
as  to  his  worth.  With  only  one  exception  there  was  no  one 
in  New  Castle  whom  I  knew  so  well.  He  was  emphatically 
a  Christian  gentleman.  For  amiability  of  character,  up- 
right and  honorable  deportment,  devotion  to  principle,  and 
activity  in  Christian  work.  Dr.  Robert  Audley  Browne  had 
no  superior  if  any  equal  in  the  community.     None  received 


^^<(^t 


Robert  Audley  Browne,   D.   D. 


A  NEW  HOMK  AND  NEW  WORK.  393 

SO  many  honors;  none  bad  more  influence.  He  was  active 
in  benevolent  and  reform  movements.  He  was  a  zealous 
and  outspoken  National  Reformer.  He  was  a  warm  friend 
of  Covenanters.  None  would  have  been  more  welcomed 
into  our  fellowship.  Indeed,  I  loved  him  so  much  I  would 
have  stolen  him  awa}'  from  the  United  Presbyterians  if  it 
could  have  been.  No  one  adored  him  as  did  his  worthy 
wife;  and  no  children  loved  their  father  more  than  did  his. 
He  occasionally  asked  me  to  preach  in  his  pulpit,  and  except 
in  some  Covenanter  pulpits  in  none  did  I  feel  more  at  home. 
When  the  time  came  for  our  leaving  New  Castle  I  would 
have  been  more  loath  to  depart  if  I  had  not  hoped  to  meet 
Dr.  Browne  often  again. 

The  pastor  of  the  Old  School  Presbyterian  Church  was 
D.  X.  Junkin,  D.  D.,  a  brother  of  the  distinguished  Dr. 
George  K.  Junkin,  a  strong  pro-.slavery  divine  of  Kentucky. 
The  New  Castle  pastor  was  a  man  and  minister  of  superior 
ability,  of  gentlemanlj;  deportment,  and  sound  in  theology. 
He  had  more  than  respect  for  Covenanters,  and  several  times 
invited  me  to  fill  his  pulpit  in  his  absence.  But,  like  his 
brother,  he  had  been  pro-slavery,  and  he  was  a  strong 
opposer  of  the  National  Reform  movement.  As  he  was 
very  fond  of  debate  we  gave  him  several  opportunities  to 
show  his  combativeness.  The  first  was  at  the  time  of  a 
large  National  Reform  Convention  when  he  stoutly  fought 
against  the  passage  of  some  of  the  resolutions.  Others,  as 
the  editor  of  the  leading  New  Castle  paper,  and  several 
prominent  lawyers,  two  of  whom  were  members  of  Dr. 
Junkin's  congregation,  opposed  the  reform.  The  people  of 
the  town  were  aroused,  pro  and  con,  and  the  papers  entered 
into  the  discussion.  As  I  had  been  most  active  in  getting 
up  the  convention,  I  determined  afierwards  to  keep  up  the 
agitation  for  the  truth's  sake,  and  invited  Rev.  Dr.  Sloane, 
professor  of  theology  in  Allegheny,  to  come  to  give  a  lecture 


394  1.00KING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

on  National  Reform.  It  was  given  before  a  very  large  audi- 
ence. At  its  close  Dr.  Junkin  arose  and  challenged  Dr. 
Sloane  to  a  public  debate  on  the  subject.  It  was  accepted. 
The  arrangements  were  soon  concluded.  The  debate  was 
between  two  strong  men.  Two  giants  met.  Dr.  Sloane, 
always  powerful  in  debate,  had  met  his  match;  but  as  the 
conflict  continued  he  rose  above  himself,  and  as  he  had 
truth  on  his  side  he  evidently  gained  the  mastery  over  an 
able  and  honorable  opponent.  And  such  was  the  judgment 
of  the  great  audience  present,  a  majority  of  whom  were 
National  Reformers,  Covenanters  and  United  Presbyterians. 
Many  came  from  a  distance  to  hear  the  debate.  The  ap- 
plause made  it  manifest  that  a  majority  were  with  Dr. 
Sloane.  The  debate  lasted  four  nights.  The  agitation 
increased  to  the  end  and  the  whole  community  was  aroused. 
During  the  time  of  these  debates  Dr.  Sloane  and  Dr.  A.  M. 
Milligan  were  guests  in  our  family,  and  we  all  had  a  good 
time. 

The  agitation  did  not  cease.  Not  long  afterwards  a 
public  meeting  or  convention  was  called  in  a  neighboring 
country  church,  perhaps  near  Bedford.  I  had  secured  Dr. 
Milligan  as  one  of  the  speakers.  Two  or  three  United 
Presbyterian  ministers  were  present  to  maintain  the  right. 
Editor  Durbin  of  New  Castle,  and  a  member  of  Dr.  Junkin's 
church,  was  there  to  oppose.  He  was  an  able  debater. 
Dr.  Milligan,  in  a  speech  of  great  power,  gained  the  victory 
over  him.  Never  before  had  I  heard  my  Covenanter  friend 
make  such  an  able  and  eloquent  defense  of  the  truth.  At  a 
later  date  a  second  National  Reform  Convention  was  held  in 
New  Castle.  At  the  former  the  meetings  continued  through 
three  days  or  evenings.  At  the  second  the  meetings  assumed 
the  form  of  a  debate,  the  question  being:  "Should  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  be  amended  as  proposed  by 
the    National    Association?"      The   discussions   continued 


A  NEW  HOME  AND  NEW  WORK.  395 

during  five  consecutive  nights.  The  ablest  talent  in  the 
city,  ministers,  lawyers  and  others,  opposed  the  reform. 
One  was  a  Jew  and  a  Democrat.  His  son  and  daughter 
were  students  in  our  school.  Some  of  the  leading  defenders 
of  the  truth  were  Rev.  J.  C.  Smith,  student  Quarles,  a 
young  colored  man  and  Covenanter,  formerly  of  Geneva 
but  now  at  Westminster  College,  Rev.  J.  W.  Bain  (United 
Presbyterian),  Dr.  Browne,  A.  M.  Milligan,  and  Dr.  Sloane. 
I  find  in  my  journal  of  that  date  the  following  entry: 
"Throughout  the  debates  Truth  won  victories,  and  at 
the  close  she  evidently  gained  a  grand  triumph.  I  think 
great  good  will  result  from  the  discussions;  and  I  am  glad 
that  I  have  had  the  opportunity  to  speak  for  Christ  and  his 
cau.se. ' ' 


CHAPTER   XU. 
Pleasant  Recollections. 

During  our  long  summer  vacation  of  1868  Mrs.  Johnston 
and  I,  with  our  little  girls,  made  a  visit  back  to  their  birth- 
place and  the  grave  of  one  whose  dust  had  Iain  in  the 
Topsham  cemetery  eleven  long  years.  Leaving  home  on 
the  9th  of  July  our  journey  lay  through  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
where  we  stopped  a  few  hours  to  visit  our  old  friends,  Rev. 
J.  M.  Armour  and  family.  He  was  pastor  there  then. 
Thence  we  went  by  Oswego  and  on  Lake  Ontario  and  by 
the  Thousand  Islands  to  Ogdensburg  and  on  to  Lisbon 
where  I  was  expected  to  preach  on  Sabbath.  While  there 
we  were  kindly  entertained  in  the  family  of  Elder  John 
Coleman  whose  sons  are  now  honored  workers  in  Pittsburg 
Presbytery. 

From  Lisbon  we  journeyed  by  rail  to  Plattsburg  and  thence 
by  boat  to  Burlington,  remaining  there  over  night.  That 
day  and  night,  July  13,  were  said  to  be  the  hottest  ever 
known.  In  the  coolest  place  to  be  found  in  the  shade  the 
mercury  stood  at  ninety-nine  degrees.  On  our  arrival  at 
White  River  Junction  on  the  Connecticut,  at  noon  it  stood 
at  one  hundred  and  one  degrees  in  the  shade,  hotter  than 
ever  known  before.  By  cars  and  stage  we  were  in  Topsham 
by  6  o'clock  in  the  evening,  happy  again  at  seeing  the 
grand  old  hills,  the  beautiful  forests  and  streams,  and  the 
old  church  and  parsonage.  Most  of  all  was  I  happy  to 
meet  with  many  of  the  dear  friends  of  former  years.  Old 
memories  were  revived,  happy  days  of  communion  and  labor 

•      (396) 


PLEASANT    RECOLLKCTIONS.  397 

among  a  good  people  who  loved  rae  as  pastor  and  friend 
c  )uld  not  be  forgotten,  and  I  wished  I  had  never  left  my 
first  field  of  labor  when  so  many,  all  as  far  as  I  know,  wished 
me  to  remain.     Had  I  not  done  them  a  great  wrong  ? 

As  the  pulpit  was  vacant  and  it  was  known  that  I  would 
preach  on  Sabbath,  a  large  assembly  came  to  worship  in  the 
old  church.  Besides  the  brethren  and  their  families  there 
was  a  large  concourse  of  hearers  of  all  kinds  of  non-professors 
and  of  other  churches.  The  text  for  the  morning  service 
was:  "Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand;"  for 
the  afternoon:  "And  few  there  be  that  find  it,"  i.  e.,  the 
narrow  way  that  leads  to  life. 

Between  the  two  Sabbaths  I  attended  the  commencement 
at  Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  N.  H.,  at  which  Carlos 
White,  one  of  the  young  men  of  the  Topsham  congregation, 
had  finished  the  course  of  study.  He  was  the  son  of  Con- 
gregational parents.  When  a  growing  boy  he  attended  our 
Covenanter  Sabbath-school  and  afterwards  was  a  student  in 
the  pastor's  school.  Under  such  influences  he  accepted  our 
principles  and  was  received  into  the  church  by  baptism. 
While  I  was  yet  the  pastor  he  volunteered  as  a  soldier  in  one 
of  the  Vermont  regiments.  After  he  was  mustered  out  he 
entered  college  and  completed  the  course.  At  one  time  I 
had  hoped  he  would  become  a  theological  student,  but  after 
his  graduation  he  went  into  business  as  a  book-seller.  After 
a  few  years  I  heard  of  his  going  to  California  and  engaging 
in  business  there. 

x\s  I  could  not  remain  more  than  two  Sabbaths,  on  the 
.second  I  preached  in  the  forenoon  from,  "The  stone  which 
the  builders  rejected  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner,"  and 
in  the  P.  M.  from,  "The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  you  all."  At  the  time  I  thought  that  would  probably 
be  ray  last  visit  and  sermon  in  Topsham.  In  the  closing 
address  I  was  moved  to  speak  earnest  and  loving  words  to 


398  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK   SUNSET    LAND. 

three  classes  of  people  with  which  the  church  was  largely 
filled,  viz.,  unconverted  sinners,  professors  of  religion  espe- 
cially Covenanters,  and  the  afflicted  and  sorrowing.  Of 
these  there  were  many.  Some  had  lost  soldier  sons  and 
others,  not  a  few,  were  mourning  bereavements  from  other 
causes. 

While  we  lingered  at  our  old  home  we  spent  most  of  the 
time  in  visiting  friends  and  receiving  visits  from  the  brethren. 
One  day  was  spent  in  a  picnic  in  Elder  Divoll's  grove.  This 
gathering  was  arranged  for  'largely  by  my  dear  old  friend 
Elder  Daniel  Keenan;  and  he  was  happy  and  made  a  little 
address,  something  he  rarely  ever  did.  That  church  gath- 
ering was  made  the  more  pleasant  by  the  presence  of  two 
young  ladies  recently  from  Washington,  D.  C,  and  teachers 
in  our  Freedman's  Mission  there,  viz.,  Miss  Sarah  Morse  of 
Craftsbury,  and  Miss  Helen  Johnston  of  Ohio.  They  were 
visiting  Mrs.  Emily  Divoll  Taggart,  also  a  teacher  in  the 
mission.  Miss  Clough,  the  fourth  teacher,  had  gone  over  to 
Ryegate,  her  home.     It  was  their  vacation. 

After  having  spent  over  two  weeks  with  our  old  friends, 
and  leaving  my  family  to  remain  a  week  or  two  longer  while 
I  went  forward  to  Lisbon  and  to  Sterling,  N.  Y.,  where  I  was 
expected  to  preach,  I  bade  good-bj^  to  the  people  from  whom 
I  was  loath  to  separate.     No  spot  on  earth  was  so  dear. 

At  Sterling  I  was  most  royally  entertained  by  Elder  John 
Hunter  and  family  whom  I  had  never  seen  before.  On  the 
journey  thither  I  read  "Old  Mortality,"  Walter  Scott's 
subtle  and  unjust"  attack  upon  the  Covenanters  of  Scotland; 
and  the  next  week  while  waiting  the  arrival  of  my  family  I 
read  what  I  found  in  Mr.  Hunter's  library,  Herbert  Spen- 
cer's work  on  education,  a  dangerous  book  though  abound- 
ing with  excellent  thoughts. 

On  Friday  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hunter  went  with  me  to  Fulton 
to  meet  ray  family.     We  were  most  kindly  entertained  by 


PI.EASANT   RECOI.1.ECTIONS.  399 

them  during  our  stay.  Few  Covenanter  congregations  have 
such  excellent  people  among  them.  Would  that  the  number 
of  such  were  greatl)^  multiplied  all  over  the  church.  Her 
institutions  would  not  languish.  Long  years  have  passed 
since  we  parted  from  those  kind  friends,  but  I  never  can 
forget  how,  during  our  stay  in  Sterling,  those  good  people 
so  won  my  aflfections  that  I  can  remember  no  fault  in  them. 
Of  few  of  all  my  friends  can  I  so  write.  Sabbath  over,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hunter  brought  us  to  Fulton  to  take  the  train 
homeward  bound.  At  Syracuse  we  again  visited  a  few  hours 
with  Brother  Armour,  and  then  were  off  for  our  New  Castle 
home.     Thus  was  spent  one  of  our  most  pleasant  vacations. 

During  the  autumn  and  winter  I  preached  nearly  every 
Sabbath  either  in  the  New  Castle  church  or  fulfilling  appoint- 
ments within  the  bounds  of  Presbytery.  For  the  first  time 
I  became  an  active  worker  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  The  occa- 
sion of  it  was  an  invitation  to  take  charge  of  the  Bible  class 
which  met  in  the  hall  of  the  association.  I  was  free  to  do 
so  as  onl}^  the  Psalms  of  inspiration  were  used  in  their  devo- 
tional meetings.  This  was  due  largely  to  the  many  United 
Presbyterians  and  Covenanters  in  the  association.  I  began 
my  work  in  the  class  by  a  lecture  on  the  Bible.  At  this  time 
there  were  no  International  Bible  Lessons.  This  system  had 
its  origin  at  a  later  date.  We  selected  the  book  of  Acts.  It 
was  during  these  years  that  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Ira 
D.  Sankey,  the  "Gospel  singer."  His  home  was  in  New 
Castle;  he  was  the  leader  of  the  choir  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church;  and  he  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Y.  M.   C.   A. 

In  New  Castle  there  was  a  lecture  lyceum  that  brought 
some  able  and  popular  lecturers.  Among  these  was  Theo- 
dore Tilton.  His  lecture  was  on  "True  Statesmanship." 
He  showed  what  should  be  the  character  of  the  legislation 
of  the  country  with  reference  to  convicts,  Indians,  foreigners, 


400  LOOKING    B  \CK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

colored  people  and  women.  On  all  these  subjects  he  was 
radical  and  generally  accurate.  At  that  time  there  was  in 
the  country  no  more  advanced  thinker.  His  greatest  needs 
were  piety  and  a  fuller  belief  of  evangelical  truth.  It  was 
during  this  course,  though  earlier,  that  Frederick  Douglass 
gave  his  lecture  on  "The  One  IVfan  Power,"  or  against  the 
veto  power.  His  greatness  as  an  orator  did  not  appear  so 
manifest  as  in  former  years  when  he  pleaded  for  his  people 
in  bonds.  But  the  meanness  of  the  caste  feeling  or  of 
prejudice  against  color  was  shown  by  the  shameful  neglect 
shown  to  Mr.  Douglass  b}^  the  lyceum  in  which  were  Demo- 
crats and  former  pro-slaver}^  professional  men.  It  was  the 
rule  and  had  been  the  practise  of  the  lyceum  to  make  pro- 
vision for  the  entertainment  of  all  the  lecturers,  and  a  com- 
mittee or  an  officer  of  the  lyceum  was  expected  to  meet  the 
coming  speaker  at  the  railroad  station  and  escort  him  to  the 
appointed  place  of  lodging.  But  the  eloquent  orator  was  a 
negro.  When  his  train  from  Pittsburg  arrived  no  represen- 
tative of  the  lyceum  was  there.  I  was  not  a  member,  but  as 
a  personal  friend  I  went  to  meet  him  and  welcome  him  to 
our  city.  After  salutations  he  said  to  me,  "Where  is  the 
committee?"  "I  do  not  know."  I  was  much  ashamed  of 
my  neighbors  but  I  could  onh'  try  to  apologize  for  them 
supposing  that  there  might  be  some  mistake  somewhere. 
He  said  nothing  more,  but  Frederick  Douglass  had  sharp- 
ness sufficient  to  see  it  all.  Taking  his  gripsack  in  my  hand 
I  conducted  him  all  the  way  up  Main  Street  to  our  little 
cottage  to  the  wonderment  of  many  beholders  who  had  never 
before  seen  Frederick  Douglass.  And  so  we  had  the  pleasure 
of  entertaining  the  popular  colored  .  orator,  and  we  were 
glad  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  we  had  the  opportunity 
of  silently  testifying  against  caste  prejudice.  But  though  he 
said  nothing  Mr.  Douglass  was  mad.  We  walked  with  him 
to  the  hall  where  we  were  met  bj-  the  president  of  the  lyceum, 


PLKASANT    RECOLLECTIONS.  4©! 

a  United  Presbyterian  and  a  city  teacher,  to  whom  I  intro- 
duced Mr.  Douglass.     They  went  upon  the  platform  together. 
Professor  Aikenroseandsaid:  "Ladies and  Gentlemen,  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  introducing  Fred  Douglass  who  will  speak  to 
vou  on  'The  One  Man  Power.'"     Mr.  Douglass  arose  and 
said-  "Ladies  and  gentlemen,  negro  slaves  were  presumed 
to  have  onlv  one  name.    My  master  called  me /^Ar^'mrX'.     My 
name  is   Frederick   Douglass."     As  soon  as  the   applause 
ceased   he   proceeded   to    give    his   lecture;    and   it  was  an 
unanswerable  argument   against   the   veto  power   whether 
presidential  or  gubernatorial.     We  had  the  pleasure  of  enter- 
taining Mr.  Douglass  and  we  enjoyed  his  company,  yet  there 
was  one  thing  wanting.     The  great  orator  lacked  the  one 
thing   needful.     He  was  not  a  foe  to  religion  but  he  was 
destitute  of  that  piety  that   so  generally  characterized  the 
slaves   and    the   freedmen.     If    he   had   had   the   religious 
element  as  highly  cultured  as  was  desirable  he  would  have 
been  a  far  greater  power  for  the  elevation  of  his  race. 

The  editor  of  the  New  Castle  Courant,  the  leading  paper 
in  the  citv,  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  discussions  in  one 
of  the  National  Reform  Conventions.  A  while  afterwards  m 
his  paper  he  renewed  the  attack  upon  the  Reform  movement. 
Believing  in  the  power  of  the  press,  I  used  his  own  columns 
in  reply  to  the  editor.  The  disputations  continued  m  the 
weekly  paper  over  two  months.  That  good  to  the  cause  of 
truth  resulted  was  hoped.  Whether  or  not,  I  could  not  see 
error  disseminated  by  the  press  without  an  effort  to  counter- 
act it  The  duty  is  ours;  the  consequences  are  God's.  And 
is  it  not  probable  that  if  ministers  or  other  competent  writers 
would  use  the  columns  of  other  papers  than  our  own  for  the 
advocacy  of  the  truth,  the  seed  would  be  sown  much  more 

extensively?  .       . 

'    The  Synod  of  1869  met  at  Newburgh,  N.  Y.     During  its 
sessions  I   took   full  reports  of  the  proceedings  and  debates 
26 


402  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   vSUN.SET   LAND. 

which  were  published  in  the  Morning  Jour nal.  They  were 
sent  to  about  four  hundred  subscribers.  This  method  of 
reporting  vSynod's  proceedings  which  I  practised  quite 
a  number  of  times  led  afterwards  to  Sjaiod's  appointing  her 
own  official  reporters.  On  the  Sabbath  occurring  during 
Synod  I  preached  l)y  the  invitation  of  the  pastor  in  the 
Methodist  Church,  colored  people.  Did  any  one  enjoy  a 
greater  privilege? 

Soon  after  returning  home,  in  company  with  friends  I 
attended  the  commencement  of  Westminster  College,  the 
United  Presbyterian  institution  at  New  Wilmington.  There 
had  been  a  prize  contest  between  four  or  five  juniors  one  of 
whom  was  our  Covenanter  colored  student,  J.  F.  Quarles,  who 
had  gone  from  Geneva  to  Westminster.  The  prize  was  won  by 
Mr.  Quarles.  Only  a  few  years  ago  he  had  been  a  slave.  The 
sword  had  been  God's  instrument  to  cut  his  chains.  Give 
the  millions  of  freed-people  a  fair  opportunity  and  erelong 
they  will  rank  high  in  the  scale  of  education. 

About  the  middle  of  November  I  was  pressed  into  a  public 
debate  on  a  question  involved  in  our  distinctive  principles. 
At  that  time  my  nephew.  Rev.  N.  M.  Johnston,  was  pastor 
of  the  congregation  at  New  Galilee.  He  was  a  zealous  Cov- 
enanter and  often  talked  and  preached  against  the  United 
States  Government  as  unchristian.  He  was  challenged  to 
debate.  Arrangements  were  made  to  call  in  others,  three  on 
each  side,  to  debate  this  question:  "Is  the  United  States 
Government  the  moral  ordinance  of  God?  "  Coming  to  me 
for  aid  he  pressed  me  into  the  service  as  one  of  the  three.  A 
layman,  one  of  his  elders,  Mr.  Young  I  think,  was  the  third. 
On  the  other  side,  the  affirmative,  were  three  ministers,  a 
Presbyterian,  a  New  School  Covenanter,  and  a  United  Pres- 
byterian. They  were  all  strangers  to  me.  The  ablest 
disputant  was  Rev.  Dr.  Scott,  the  New  Uight  Covenanter. 
He  struggled  like  a  giant  in  a  net.     The  ablest  of  the  entire 


PLEASANT    RECOIvLPXTlONS.  403 

six  was  my  nephew.  He  was  a  powerful  debater,  and  he 
was  master  of  the  subject.  From  boyhood  he  had  been 
trained  in  a  radical  Covenanter  school  and  he  was  at  home 
on  governmental  questions.  The  meetings  were  at  Darling- 
ton, Beaver  County,  and  they  continued  I  think  three  half 
daj^s.  Of  course  we  Covenanters  thought  we  had  won  the 
victory.  If  at  the  close  of  the  contest  any  one  had  told  me 
that  my  beloved  "N.  M. "  would  some  day  change  his  church 
relation  or  go  into  another  body,  I  would  have  said:  No, 
never ! 

During  our  residence  in  New  Castle  a  providence  occurred 
that  for  a  time  produced  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind. 
Elder  Robert  Speer,  who  lived  in  the  country,  had  made 
arrangements  for  my  preaching  on  a  special  theme  in  a  New 
Light  Church  not  far  from  his  home.  We  went  out  on  Satur- 
day evening  to  lodge  with  hisfamih^  On  Sabbath  morning 
we  saw  the  church  all  in  flames,  and  it  was  soon  in  ashes. 
Knowing  that  the  people  from  the  countr}^  all  around  would 
come  expecting  preaching,  Mr.  Speer  and  the  near  neigh- 
bors hastened  to  extemporize  board  seats  on  the  threshing- 
floor  of  a  large  barn  near  the  burnt  house.  Fearing  that  I 
could  not  preach  on  the  subject  which  I  had  been  studying, 
I  changed  mj'  mind  and  with  very  little  preparation  lectured 
on  2  Peter  3  :  10-13.  I  thought  afterwards  that  I  was 
helped  by  the  Spirit;  and  the  presence  and  aid  of  Mr.  Buck, 
the  licentiate,  gave  me  no  little  relief.  A  new  house  was 
soon  built  and  I  was  invited  back  to  preach  the  discourse  pre- 
pared before. 

And  right  here  I  ow^e  it  to  a  good  man  and  to  his  friends 
to  say  that  Elder  Robert  Speer  was  ranked  among  those  men 
and  elders  who  in  the  family  are  a  blessing  and  in  the 
church  pillars.  There  were  other  elders  of  great  worth  in 
that  congregation  but  no  one  was  more  worthy  of  being  a 
leader  and  no  one  had  so  much  influence.     At  this  writing 


404  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND. 

he  is  still  on  this  side  of  the  veil,  but  after  they  laj-  his  bod}^ 
iu  the  earth  the  congregation  of  New  Castle  should  place 
upon  his  grave  a  beautiful  monument  in  memor}'  of  his 
worth  and  his  w^ork  for  Christ.  On  that  marble  I  would 
cut  this  epitaph:  In  memory  of  a  noble  Christian  man  who 
well  and  honorably  served  his  generation.  He  loved  his 
church;  he  knew"  her  principles,  and  he  was  never  ashamed 
of  them  but  always  read}'  and  able  to  maintain  them. 

Anent  the  academy  a  few  additional  facts  ma}"  be  recorded. 
We  had  no  athletics  except  .some  light  gymnastics  as  taught 
by  Dio  Lewis  in  his  book  on  that  subject.  We  had  no  gym- 
nasium except  a  large  room  off  the  main  hall,  and  our  exer- 
cises were  mostly  with  the  bean-bags  and  the  wooden  dumb- 
bells. There  were  two  cla.sses,  the  larger  made  up  of  girls 
and  young  ladies,  the  smaller  of  boys  who  preferred  the 
school  gymna.stics  to  the  public  baseball  games  on  the  com- 
mon. These  "light  gymnastics"  were  fascinating  but  inno- 
cent, and  some  of  the  young  ladies  attributed  their  good 
health  to  their  exerci.se  with  the  dumb-bells  and  the  bean- 
bags. 

Among  the  students  were  some  who  became  greatly 
endeared  to  us;  and  some  of  them  became  honored  workers 
in  the  church  as  well  as  useful  members  of  Christian  fam- 
ilies. A  peculiar  instance  was  that  of  Oliver  Shiras,  the  son 
of  honored  Methodi.st  parents.  He  was  of  brilliant  intellect 
and  in  moral  character  a  model.  He  was  fond  of  the  classics 
and  read  the  lyatin  poets  with  great  delight.  But  for  .some 
unaccountable  reason  he  became  somewhat  skeptical  as  to 
religion.  This  was  known  to  few  if  any  except  his  sister, 
also  a  student  in  the  academy  and  a  lovely  young  Christian. 
See  told  me  of  her  brother's  danger,  and  she  hoped  that  I 
might  do  something  to  save  him  from  what  she  feared. 
Among  other  books  I  recommended  him  to  read  the  book  of 
Job,  the  translation  of  Hebrew  Hexameter  (?).     Sometimes 


JPLEA.SANT   RECOLLECTIONS.  405 

we  read  portions  of  it  together  for  its  fine  English  literature. 
After  we  left  New  Castle  I  learned  from  his  sister  that  he 
became  so  fond  of  reading  Job  that  he  was  led  to  the  reading 
and  study  of  other  portions  of  the  Bible  for  their  literature, 
and  the  result  was  his  love  of  the  Bible  and  his  conversion  to 
Christ;  and  after  a  while  he  became  an  earnest  preacher  of 
his  Gospel.  Precious  Word  of  God!  Not  least  among  its 
beauties  is  its  incomparabl}^  beautiful  literature. 

In  partial  contrast  with  this  case  mention  may  be  made  of 
a  student  of  Jewish  parentage.  He  was  ambitious  to  be  a 
good  speaker,  but  he  had  an  impediment  in  his  speech. 
Except  when  giving  his  declamations  he  was  a  stammerer. 
But  he  continued  his  determined  efforts  to  overcome  his 
impediment  until  he  succeeded;  and  he  became  almost  the 
finest  declaimer  in  the  school.  He  studied  law  and  became 
a  successful  practitioner.  His  father  was  one  of  the  debaters 
In  our  National  Reform  Conventions — the  Jew  and  the  Chris- 
tian standing  side  by  side  in  opposition  to  the  proposed 
Christian  amendment.  He  and  the  leader  in  the  opposition 
were  Democratic  in  politics.  And  so  when  the  oldest 
daughter  of  the  Jew  was  to  be  married,  the  ceremony  by  a 
Jewish  rabbi  from  Cleveland,  the  Presbyterian  pastor  and 
the  teachers  of  the  Jewish  children  were  invited  to  the 
marriage  and  its  subsequent  feast.  It  was  royal.  Rhine 
wine  of  the  finest  quality  was  on  the  table.  Rabbi  and 
Christian  pa.stor  both  partook,  the  former  freely,  the  latter 
only  to  "sample"  it  or  to  be  courteous  to  the  family  whose 
guests  we  were.  But  wife  and  I  were  so  well  known  by  the 
family  to  be  total  abstainers  we  had  no  difficulty  in  saying, 
'  'Thank  you,  plea.se  excuse  us. ' ' 

One  of  our  assistant  teachers  in  the  New  Castle  Academy 
was  our  young  niece,  Eliza  Johnston,  the  oldest  living 
daughter  of  Brother  J.  B.  of  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio.  She  had 
l)een  a  student  with  us  at  Geneva  and  we  knew  her  worth  as 


4o6  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

well  as  her  adaptedness  to  teach.  She  was  a  beloved  mem- 
ber of  our  family  and  she  did  much  in  the  primary  education 
of  our  little  daughters  Subsequently  she  went  to  Egypt  as 
a  missionary  under  the  United  Presbyterian  Board.  After 
doing  good  service  for  some  years  she  became  the  wife  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Stewart  and  with  him  went  to  the  United  Presb}-- 
terian  mission  field  in  northern  India.  She  is  now  the 
happy  mother  of  several  beautiful  children  and  living  again 
in  St.  Clairsville.  Dr.  Stewart's  book  on  the  India  Missions, 
written  since  his  return,  is  not  onl}'  elaborate  but  verj^ 
readable. 

After  about  four  j-ears  of  residence  and  hard  work  in  New 
Castle  we  were  induced  to  make  a  change  which  we  thought 
would  be  for  the  better.  We  were  not  tired  of  our  home. 
In  many  ways  it  was  exceedinglj^  pleasant.  In  no  place 
could  we  hope  to  find  better  society,  in  few  places  as  good. 
To  most  of  the  Covenanters  we  became  greatl)-  attached, 
though  some  were  far  from  being  models.  A  few  were 
unable  to  resist  the  temptation  of  Bacchus  and  were  too  often 
victims  of  the  insatiable  thirst  for  strong  drink  and  so  gave 
grief  to  their  brethren.  Would  that  all  who  bear  the  name 
of  Christ  were  strong  in  the  Lord. 

During  the  time  we  remained  there  the  school  grew 
steadily  both  in  numbers  and  in  character.  Under  favor- 
able circumstances  we  would  soon  have  had  a  success  more 
than  expected  at  first.  But  we  had  to  pay  high  rents  for 
our  own  residence  as  well  as  for  the  school-rooms  occupied. 
We  could  scarcely  make  ends  meet.  After  the  first  or 
second  session  we  had  to  employ  assistant  teachers.  When 
these  were  paid  and  other  expenses  met,  nothing  was  left. 
Under  such  circumstances  we  were  persuaded  to  remove  to 
New  Brighton,  a  large  town  lower  down  the  Beaver  Valley 
and  across  the  river  from  Beaver  Falls  where  Geneva  Col- 
lege  was   located   afterwards.     Here  was  a  large   building 


PLEASANT   RECOLLECTIONS.  407 

that  had  once  been  used  for  a  ladies'  seminary  but  was  now 
vacant.  We  thought  that  both  economy  and  our  comfort 
would  be  promoted  by  using  the  house  for  both  residence 
and  school.  To  secure  the  house  we  had  to  rent  also  the 
surrounding  two  or  three  acres  of  ground  including  garden 
and  orchard.  The  site  was  so  beautiful,  the  surroundings 
so  fine,  and  the  prospects  so  flattering,  we  agreed  to  pay 
what  afterwards  proved  to  be  an  enormous  rent,  and  then 
prepared  to  move  to  the  new  home.  The  owner  of  our 
school-rooms  in  New  Castle  was  a  rich  man  and  an  honored 
citizen.  When  we  informed  him  of  our  intention  to  remove, 
giving  as  one  of  our  reasons  the  fact  that  we  had  no  per- 
manent house  for  the  school,  he  said  to  us:  "Why  did  you 
not  tell  us  all  this  sooner?  We  would  have  soon  built  a 
good  house  for  your  use."  But  it  was  now  too  late.  And 
about  the  same  time  one  of  the  Covenanter  elders  said  to 
me:  "Mr.  Johnston,  why  did  you  not  let  us  know  that  you 
thought  of  leaving  us?  We  would  Mot  have  let  j^ou  go." 
Though  I  could  not  tell  him  so,  yet  the  reason  he  assigned 
was  one  of  our  reasons  for  wishing  to  leave  New  Castle. 


CHAPTER  XI.II. 
Our  New  Field  of  IvAbor. 

After  spending  a  short  vacation  in  putting  the  seminary 
building  in  better  shape  for  the  school  and  for  3'oung  lady 
boarders,  we  opened  the  spring  term  of  "The  Young  I^adies' 
Boarding  and  Day  School"  on  Monday,  April  4,  1870. 
The  number  of  students  was  encouraging.  Some  of  the 
5'oung  ladies  were  from  a  distance  and  from  Covenanter 
families,  and  some  were  daughters  of  ministers.  We  em- 
plo3'ed  two  assistant  teachers,  one  for  the  class-room  and 
one  a  music  teacher.  The  students  were  of  such  a  char- 
acter that  we  were  happ}^  in  the  hope  that  we  were  prepar- 
ing pious  3^outh  for  usefulness  in  the  church  and  in  the 
educational  departments. 

As  in  New  Castle  I  was  not  permitted  to  have  rest  but 
was  from  the  first  pressed  into  ser^nce  on  Sabbaths.  Rev. 
Dr.  A.  G.  Wallace  was  the  pastor  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Critslow  of  the  Presbyterian,  both  able 
preachers  and  most  excellent  men.  Indeed  among  all  the 
ministers  with  whom  I  have  ever  formed  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance I  can  think  of  none  more  worthy  of  affectionate  regard. 
During  all  our  time  in  that  beautiful  old  town  our  friendl}^ 
intercourse  was  intimate,  and,  to  me,  profitable.  At  his 
invitation  I  filled  Dr.  Critslow's  pulpit  once  or  twice,  and 
Dr.  Sloane  once.  Dr.  Wallace  often  constrained  me  to 
occupy  his  pulpit,  especially  in  his  absence.  In  private 
social  fellowship  he  was  a  most  pleasant  and  profitable  com- 
panion.    I  can  not  forget  the  many  happ)^  hours  we  were  to- 

(408) 


OUR    NEW    FIELD    OF    LABOR.  409 

gether  in  fraternal  intercourse;  and  with  the  exception  of  Dr. 
Audley  Browne  and  probabl)^  one  or  two  others,  no  United 
Presbyterian  minister  ever  had  a  warmer  place  in  my  affec- 
tions. At  this  writing  they  both  are  living  and  in  active 
and  useful  work,  but  they  may  never  read  these  lines,  at 
least  not  until  after  the  hand  that  writes  them  is  turned  to 
dust. 

While  in  New  Brighton  I  had  occasional  Presbyterial 
appointments  to  fulfil  but  they  were  at  such  a  distance  and 
so  added  to  my  burden  of  study  and  work,  my  energies  were 
overtaxed  all  the  time;  and  they  added  both  care  and  hard 
work  to  my  tireless  co-worker.  Rest  hours  or  rest  days 
rarely  ever  came  to  us.  During  the  same  period  Rev.  N.  M. 
Johnston,  pastor  at  New  Galilee,  had  a  preaching  station  at 
Rochester,  Pa.,  a  short  distance  below  New  Brighton.  On 
the  Sabbaths  of  his  appointments  there  we  and  the  Cov- 
enanter girls  with  us  in  the  seminar}'  walked  down  to  worship 
with  his  people.  We  never  heard  poor  preaching  in  that 
little  hall.  It  was  private  property  belonging  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Johnson  of  Rochester  and  fitted  up  for  preaching. 
They  were  the  only  Covenanters  in  the  town,  and  the}- 
should  be  remembered  as  faithful  witnesses  for  Christ  to  the 
end. 

In  New  Brighton  was  a  large  Temperance  I^eague  that 
had  kept  up  the  agitation  against  the  liquor  traffic.  In  a 
public  lecture  which  I  was  requested  by  the  League  to  give, 
I  argued  that  the  reform  will  not  succeed  so  long  as  radical 
evils  continue,  such  as  a  lack  of  a  sense  of  the  guilt  involved, 
alcoholic  medications,  and  the  license  system.  Might  not 
the  same  things  be  said  now?  It  was  here  that  I  first  had 
the  privilege  of  meeting  and  hearing  Neal  Dow,  the  apostle 
of  Prohibition.  Few  reformers  were  ever  more  devoted  to  a 
good  cause.  Only  a  few  months  ago,  and  at  the  ripe  age  of 
ninety-three,  this  great  and  good  man  ceased  from  his  labors, 


4IO  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

lamented  by  all  the  friends  of  temperance  and  honored  by 
even  those  who  opposed  the  Maine  liquor  law.  The  truth 
which  he  maintained  with  such  tenacity  triumphed  in  his 
own  state  long  ago,  but  is  received  as  yet  by  very  few 
others.  But  that  truth  was  not  buried  with  his  body.  It  is 
still  "marching  on,"  and  must  3'et  prevail  in  the  other  states 
of  the  Union  long  before  the  name  of  Neal  Dow  is  forgotten. 

During  our  long  summer  vacation  we  held  a  normal  ses- 
sion of  six  weeks.  Ft  was  attended  by  a  large  class  of 
teachers  the  majorit}^  of  whom  were  students  in  the  sem- 
inary. During  the  session  I  prepared  and  gave  eight  new 
lectures  for  the  special  benefit  of  the  teachers.  Rev.  Dr. 
Critslow  gave  one  of  the  lectures  of  the  course.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  for  all  our  labors  for  that  class  of  teachers  we 
had  our  reward  in  the  assurance  that  they  were  the  better 
fitted  for  usefulness. 

The  fall  session  opened  with  a  larger  attendance  than 
before  and  with  more  young  lad}'  boarders  in  the  seminary. 
Most  of  these  now  are  useful  and  honorable  members  of  the 
family  and  of  the  church. 

During  this  more  than  busy  term  I  attended  Presbyteiy  at 
North  Union  Church.  On  our  way  I  formed  acquaintance, 
I  think  it  was  the  first,  with  Rev.  R.  J.  George  then  the 
young  pastor  of  the  Mahoning,  O.,  congregation.  My  first 
impressions  of  his  character  have  never  been  changed;  and 
I  have  ever  been  thankful  that  I  was  favored  with  the  fra- 
ternal regard  of  one  so  worthy  of  my  own.  As  there  was 
no  railroad  communication  to  the  place,  several  of  the 
farmers  came  with  double  teams  and  wagons  into  Allegheny 
to  convey  the  ministers  and  elders  out  to  North  Union.  As 
the  way  was  long  we  all  stopped  at  some  village  or  country 
hotel  for  dinner  that  I  suppose  had  been  ordered  by  our 
friends,  the  farmers.  On  the  table  there  was  an  abundant 
supply  of  cider,   hard  cider,  such  as  most  of  the  Pennsyl- 


OUR    NEW   FIELD   OP   LABOR.  -      41 1 

vania  farmers  used  freely.  As  far  as  I  could  see  I  thiuk 
nearly  all  of  our  party,  some  of  the  ministers  as  well  as  the 
laymen,  partook,  and  some  very  freel5^  One  I  know  did 
not.  Probably  if  their  wives  had  been  present  more  would 
have  drank  .only  water  or  coflfee.  But  at  that  time,  a  short 
generation  ago,  there  were  no  White-ribboners  in  the  land, 
and  not  until  a  good  many  years  afterwards  was  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  organized. 

Two  or  three  weeks  after  Presbytery  I  was  invited  by 
Rev.  John  Galbraith,  pastor  of  the  North  Union  church,  to 
assist  him  during  the  fall  communion  season.  Few  con- 
gregations have  pastors  so  worthy  of  their  affection  and 
honor.  Beloved  by  all  and  of  spotless  reputation  he  has 
come  to  a  ripe  old  age. 

Some  time  during  the  following  winter  we  all  went  into 
Pittsburg  to  see  and  hear  Wendell  Phillips  who  gave  a 
lecture  on  "Questions  of  the  Future" — Temperance,  Labor, 
Woman.  As  we  expected,  it  was  characterized  by  wonder- 
ful prophetic  vision,  logic,  and  eloquence.  According  to 
previous  arrangement  we  had  a  short  interview  with  him 
after  the  lecture.  It  was  exceedingly  pleasant.  On  meeting 
them  Mr.  Phillips  lovingly  kissed  our  little  daughters.  The 
parents,  if  not  the  children  also,  appreciated  the  token  of  his 
affectionate  regard.  That  was  the  last  time  we  ever  saw 
Wendell  Phillips. 

Within  a  week  or  two  afterwards  the  following  entry  was 
made  in  my  journal :  "Monday,  January  ^o,  1871.  Heard 
to-day  of  the  death  of  my  very  dear  friend  and  brother,  Rev. 
R.  J.  Dodds,  D.  D.,  of  Aleppo,  Syria,  foreign  mis.sionary.  My 
heart  is  deeply  pained  at  this  sad  intelligence.  Alas  !  that 
one  so  dear  and  so  useful — so  needed  in  the  foreign  field — 
should  be  called  away  in  the  midst  of  a  career  of  great  use- 
fulness. Who  can  fill  the  vacancy  ?  Alas  for  the  mission  ! 
But  the  Master  knows  what  is  best.     Our  loss  is  Brother 


412  IvOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LANO. 

D  )dds'  gain.  And  we  ma}'  yet  see  the  Master's  design." 
Under  the  date  of  March  24,  I  find  the  following:  "I 
should  have  noted  the  fact  some  time  ago,  that  Mrs.  John- 
ston and  I  have  been  notified  of  our  election  to  professors' 
chairs  in  the  institution  at  Northwood,  Ohio,  where  we 
formerly  taught;  and  that  we  promptly  declined  the  appoint- 
ments. We  should  be  there  as  teachers  in  a  school  under 
the  care  of  our  church;  but  under  all  the  circumstances  we 
feel  that  we  can  not  go  honorably  unless  the  action  of  the 
Board  of  Kducation  be  different." 

Tlie  Synod  of  187 1  is  memorable  for  its  act  of  covenanting. 
For  several  years  the  subject  had  been  before  the  church, 
and  at  a  Sj'uod  a  few  years  previous  some  preparation  was 
mad:;  for  covenanling  at  that  meeting;  but  it  became  mani- 
fest that  the  proper  time  had  not  yet  come.  But  at  the 
Synod  of  1870  it  was  resolved  to  engage  in  the  solemn  act 
the  next  year,  and  preparations  were  made  for  it.  The  origi- 
nal draft  of  the  bond  had  been  prepared  by  a  committee, 
Rev.  S.  O.  Wylie,  D.  D.,  chairman,  and  had  been  printed 
and  scattered  over  the  church  for  examination;  and  it  was 
confidently  expected  that  the  covenant  would  be  sworn. 
When  the  time  came  the  previously-prepared  program  was 
carried  out  and  a  time  of  refreshing  was  enjoyed.  That 
solemn  transaction  and  the  exercises  connected  with  it  now 
form  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  church  and  need  not  be 
repeated  here.  In  my  journal  at  the  time  I  made  a  record 
of  the  whole  and  what  I  then  thought  is  manifest  from  that 
record.  The  following  will  suffice:  "I  record  my  gratitude 
to  God  for  his  great  goodness  to  the  church  and  to  me.  It 
was  a  meeting  (of  Synod)  at  which  the  long-desired  act  of 
covenanting  was  engaged  in.  There  were  evidences  of  the 
presence  of  the  divine  Master  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Tlie 
covenant  was  sworn  and  signed  by  one  hundred  and  forty- 
four  members  of  Synod  and  by  licentiates  and  many  elders 


OUR   NEW    FIELD   OF   LABOR.  413 

present.     Never  in  the  history  of  the  church  in  America  has 
she  engaged  in  a  work  so  solemn  and  important." 

According  to  previous  arrangements  I  took  and  pubhshed 
very  copious  reports  of  the  proceedings  and  the  discussions. 
They  came  out  in  the  Pittsburg  daily  Gazette  and  were 
sent  to  about  five  hundred  subscribers  throughout  the 
church. 

During  that  meeting  the  action  of  the  Synod's  Board  of 
Education  in  the  appointment  of  Mrs.  Johnston  and  myself 
as  professors  in  the  college  at  Northwood  was  confirmed  by 
a  unanimous  vote,  that  is,  no  one  voted  in  the  negative. 
As  the  act  of  Synod  followed  the  act  of  covenanting  it 
settled  the  question  of  our  going  to  Geneva  again.  Our 
letter  of  acceptance  was  now  forwarded  to  the  Board  and  we 
shaped  our  plans  to  remove  to  Northwood  about  the  first  of 
September. 

Our  spring  term  at  New  Brighton  closed  about  the  middle 
of  June  and  was  followed  by  a  short  normal  se.ssion.  At  the  ' 
opening  I  read  to  the  teachers  a  specially  prepared  lecture  on 
"The  Bible  in  the  Public  Schools."  This  was  followed  by 
other  lectures  as  at  former  sessions.  Some  of  these  were 
given  by  invited  professional  men. 

This  normal  session  closed  our  labors  in  the  New  Brighton 
Seminary.  When  we  went  there  we  supposed  it  was  to  be 
our  permanent  home.  But  we  did  not  dream -that  we  would 
ever  be  recalled  to  Geneva  or  that  we  could  lie  induced  to 
return.  But  after  w'e  received  notification  of  the  action  of 
the  Board,  and  when  its  action  was  approved  by  Synod,  the 
path  of  duty  was  tolerably  plain.  There  were  two  additional 
considerations  that  had  much  to  do  in  our  decision.  Owing 
to  the  enormous  rents  which  we  had  to  pay  for  the  grounds 
as  well  as  the  house,  we  feared  financial  loss;  but  we  had  no 
sinking  fund.  The  other  consideration  was  weighty.  We 
were  not  within  the  bounds  of  any  Covenanter  congregation 


414     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

SO  that  not  only  we  ourselves  but  the  Covenanter  girls 
attending  the  seminary  were  deprived  of  regular  ordinances. 
At  that  time  there  was  only  one  Covenanter  family  living 
in  Beaver  Falls.  The  congregation  was  not  organized  there 
until  in  November,  1874.  Accordingly  the  good-will  of  the 
seminary  which  -had  begun  to  put  on  fair  proportions  was 
transferred  to  a  professional  lady  teacher  who,  with  assist- 
ants, engaged  to  carr3'  on  the  school.  With  manj'  regrets 
on  leaving  a  home  with  most  beautiful  surroundings  and 
many  friends  to  whom  we  were  bound  by  very  strong  ties, 
we  bad  adieu  to  New  Brighton. 


CHAPTER    XUII. 
Gkxeva's  Old  Bell  Rings  Again. 

We  arrived  at  Nortliwood  on  the  loth  of  August,  1871, 
and  immediately  began  to  make  preparations  for  work.  As 
the  Board  expected  us  to  reoccupy  the  seminary-  and  make 
it  a  comfortable  home  for  young  ladies  from  other  parts 
of  the  church  who  might  wish  to  board  there,  we  set  about 
renovating  it  and  putting  it  in  good  shape,  all  of  which  took 
most  of  our  spare  funds. 

Before  our  arrival  the  two  Miami  congregations  and  that 
of  Rushsylvania  had  made  arrangements  to  unite  in  taking 
the  covenant  that  had  been  sworn  by  Synod,  and  the  minis- 
ters of  the  entire  Presb3'tery  were  expected  to  be  present  to 
engage  in  the  act.  This  was  to  be  followed  by  a  Presbyterial 
communion.  We  prepared  to  join  with  the  people  in  both 
the  solemn  services,  and  parts  of  these  were  assigned  to  me 
though  not  then  a  member  of  Presbytery.  The  ser^-ices 
continued  during  four  days,  every  member  of  Presbytery 
having  some  part.  The  covenant  bond  was  sworn  on 
Saturday  afternoon.  Rev.  J.  C.  Boyd  being  the  oldest  min- 
ister, read  the  bond,  the  people  all  standing.  While  reading 
the  language  of  the  oath  proper  they  all  held  up  their  right 
hands  saying  Amen  at  the  end  of  each  section,  and  at  the 
close  all  saying:  "All  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  will  we  do 
and  be  obedient."  The  communion  ser\nces  of  Sabbath 
were  remarkably  solemn.  It  was  no  doubt  a  time  of  revival, 
a  day  of  joy  and  gladness.  The  only  duty  devolved  upon 
me  on  Monday  was  the  exposition  of  the  Psalm.  I  explained 
that  part  of  the  seventy-second  beginning  with 

(415) 


41 6  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSKT   LAND. 

"  His  large  and  great  dominion 
Shall  from  sea  to  sea  extend." 

According  to  previous  announcement  the  college  year 
opened  on  Tuesday,  September  12.  On  the  first  day  only 
eleven  students  were  enrolled,  though  the  number  increased 
afterwards  and  grew  larger  ever3'  term.  I  do  not  know 
who  had  been  the  teachers  during  the  previous  term  or 
3"ear,  but  I  find  this  entr}-  in  my  diary  of  that  date,  viz.: 
"Tuesday,  September  12.  B}^  bad  management  and  bad 
teaching  the  institution  has  been  almost  ruined.  Whether 
the  school  can  be  revived  is  doubtful.  Ours  is  to  labor  in 
hope  and  wait  the  indication  of  God's  will.  If  even  a  few 
3^oung  men  should  be  prepared  here  for  the  theological 
seminary,  we  will  not  labor  in  vain."  Rev.  William  Milroy 
was  the  acting  president  and  taught  some  of  the  Latin 
classes  and  perhaps  some  others.  Of  the  Latin  he  was  a 
thorough  master.  Professor  McCartney  taught  some  of  the 
natural  sciences.  As  both  were  pastors  the  heavier  burden 
rested  upon  Mrs.  Johnston  and  me.  A  fe\V  colored  students 
were  3Xt  in  college,  among  whom  were  George  M.  Elliott, 
Webster  Boxley,  Franklin  Pepper,  and  several  boys  from 
the  south.  I  remember  that  the  three  named  were  mem- 
bers of  my  class  in  Haven's  Mental  Science.  In  a  tolerably 
large  class  the  first  of  the  three  was  as  good  as  the  best. 
He  was  among  the  leaders  in  all  his  classes,  and  3^et  he 
worked  to  pay  for  his  board.  The  second  did  not  excel  in 
his  studies  but  he  was  genial,  full  of  fun,  and  a  favorite. 
The  third  could  not  "grasp"  the  science  of  metaphysics  and 
sometimes  made  unfortunate  blunders  whereat  the  second 
was  almost  certain  to  laugh  and  had  to  be  checked  b}'  the 
teacher.  It  was  probabh'  at  the  end  of  the  winter  term  that 
the  evening  literary  exercises  excited  more  than  ordinary 
interest.  Prizes  in  books  had  been  offered  for  the  best 
essays  and  orations.     "Webster's  Unabridged"   was  one  of 


geneva's  old  bell  rings  again.  417 

them.  I  have  forgotten  the  results  of  the  contest  except 
that  the  judges  awarded  the  dictionary  to  George  M.  Elliott, 
and  that  Webster  Boxley  gave  an  excellent  oration  on  '  'John 
Brown  of  Harper's  Ferry."  One  thing  at  least  was  made 
manifest,  that  the  negro  has  brains.  Mr.  Ouarles,  an  eman- 
cipated slave  and  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  all  the  students, 
had  gone  to  Westminster  to  finish  his  studies.  Afterwards 
he  became  enamored  with  law  or  politics,  received  an  appoint- 
ment to  some  minor  consulship  and  was  lost  to  the  church. 

During  the  winter  I  gave  a  few  lectures  in  neighboring 
towns  on  National  Reform;  and  accompanied  by  my  brother 
James  and  some  others  I  attended  a  national  convention  at 
Cincinnati.  There  were  two  hundred  and  fifty  delegates. 
It  continued  two  days  during  which  again  I  had  to  do  the 
work  of  the  secretary.  Among  the  prominent  speakers 
were  the  Boston  infidel  editor,  Mr.  Abbott,  and  Rev.  Dr. 
Mayo  who  triumphantly  vindicated  the  truth  against  the 
opposition  of  the  infidel. 

Late  in  the  month  of  March  I  assisted  Rev.  Mr.  Milroy, 
pastor  of  the  second  congregation,  during  his  communion 
season.  Preached  four  sermons  and  served  two  tables,  the 
first  and  the  fourth.  I  was  greatly  profited  by  the  service 
throughout  the  entire  season.  A  few  weeks  afterwards  Rev. 
McCartney,  of  the  first  congregation,  held  his  communion, 
Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan  assisting.  As  Mrs.  Johnston  held  her 
membership  in  that  congregation,  we  were  communicants 
though  I  performed  no  ministerial  part  except  to  .serve  one 
table  when  I  spoke  before  the  distribution  of  the  elements 
from,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God"  and  after  from,  "And  we 
beheld  his  glory."  I  think  that  was  the  last  communion 
ever  enjoyed  at  North  wood.  But  I  can  not  forget  that  dur- 
ing all  the  months  of  that  winter  and  spring  when  we  nearly 
alwaj'S  worshiped  in  the  first  church,  we  heard  most  excellent 
preaching.     Many  of  the  sermons  were  the  work  of  a  master. 

27 


41 8  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

They  were  full  of  richest  Gospel  truths  spoken  in  most  beau- 
tiful style  and  adorned  with  appropriate  illustrations. 

The  Synod  of  1872  met  at  York,  N.  Y.  My  brother 
J.  S.  was  the  delegate  elder  from  first  Miami's  session. 
Neither  of  us  had  ever  seen  Niagara  Falls,  and  so  we  ar- 
ranged to  visit  them  on  our  way  to  Synod.  As  he  was  a  foe 
to  Masonry  and  all  the  secret  lodges  he  started  a  day  or  two 
in  advance  that  he  might  attend  an  anti-secret  convention 
at  Oberlin,  O.  Wcmet  at  Cleveland  and  then  traveled  to- 
gether to  Niagara.  We  spent  one  day  in  beholding  that 
great  world's  wonder  that  must  be  seen  before  its  grandeur 
can  be  known. 

At  York  I  was  most  kindly  entertained  at  the  house  of 
Elder  Daniel  Mc]\Iillan.  The  other  guests  were  pleasaiut 
companions  but  not  all  free  from  vice.  Two  of  the  ministers, 
and  young  men  too,  were  tobacco  smokers  and  habitually 
made  the  office  sitting-room  blue  with  smoke.  Were  those 
times  of  ignorance  that  God  winked  at?  I  trow  not.  One 
of  those  j^oung  pastors  after  a  while  went  out  of  the  church; 
the  other  some  5^ears  afterwards  repented  and  ceased  to 
befoul  his  "temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

As  yet  the  institution  at  Northwood  has  become  only  in 
part  a  church  school.  The  propert}^  belonged  to  individuals, 
and  the  efforts  to  endow  the  college  had  been  a  failure. 
The  only  support  for  the  teachers  was  the  tuition  fees. 
Synod  was  almost  united  in  the  opinion  that  a  church  school 
was  a  necessity,  but  the  question  was,  How  can  the  two  old 
hostile  wings  of  the  church,  the  deacon  and  the  anti-deacon, 
be  united  in  the  support  of  the  college  ?  This  question 
"would  not  down"  and  perhaps  could  not  so  long  as  there  w  ere 
two  rival  if  not  hostile  congregations  at  Northwood.  With 
this  question  the  Synod  at  York  tried  once  more  to  grapple. 
In  the  faculty  during  the  past  j^ear  there  were  only  four,  the 
two  Northwood  pastors  and  the  two  who  had  been  brought 


geneva's  old  beivL  rings  again.  419 

from  the  New  Brighton  Seminary.  These  attended  the  first 
church  and  were  supposed  to  belong  to  the  dominant  wing. 
It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  all  would  always  be  like  a 
company  of  horses  in  Pharaoh's  chariots.  At  that  Synod 
at  York,  and  presumably  after  a  recommendation  by  the 
Board  of  Education,  Rev.  H.  H.  George  was  chosen  to  be 
president  and  the  former  four  teachers  continued  in  the 
faculty.  Whether  this  action  was  wise  and  just  was  doubted 
by  some  then  and  need  not  be  raised  now.  The  dead  past 
has  buried  its  dead.  The  institution  now  on  College  Hill, 
Beaver  Falls,  may  be  the  evidence  of  it. 

Having  returned  home  from  Synod,  as  soon  as  practicable 
the  new  faculty,  now  consisting  of  five  and  including  H.  H. 
George  president  elect,  met  to  modify  the  course  of  study, 
agree  upon  the  "chairs"  to  be  occupied,  and  to  i.ssue  the 
new  catalogue.  In  those  days  the  Board  of  Education 
allowed  the  faculty  to  assign  to  each  member  his  own  chair. 
I  remember  that  Mrs.  Johnston  was  made  principal  of  the 
Academic  Department,  and  to  me  was  assigned  the  chair  of 
Greek. 

During  the  previous  college  year  I  had  been  overworked 
and  needed  rest  and  change.  To  getaway  from  Northwood, 
and  hoping  to  gain  health,  I  arranged  to  spend  the  summer 
vacation  among  the  hills  of  Vermont  whose  pure  air  and 
pure  waters  were  always  invigorating.  Reluctantly  leaving 
my  little  family  alone  in  the  seminary  at  Northwood,  I  took 
my  journey  to  the  Green  Mountain  state  via  Buffalo,  and 
hastened  on  to  Craftsbury  and  arrived  a  day  or  two  before 
the  fast  day  of  the  approaching  communion.  His  Presby- 
tery had  appointed  Rev.  J.  B.  Williams,  an  old  fellow- 
student  in  the  seminary,  to  dispense  the  sacrament  of  the 
supper  in  the  congregation  then  vacant,  and  I  had  been 
invited  to  assist  him.  While  there  and  all  the  time  I  tarried 
in  Craftsbury  I  made  my  home  in  the  family  of  Elder  Aurelius 


420  I^OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSp:T    I^AND. 

Morse;  and  it  was  a  good  home.  Intelligent  Yankees,  good 
Covenanters,  and  devout  Christians — why  should  not  such 
always  make  a  good  home? 

During  the  communion  season  I  performed  the  work  and 
services  usually  assigned  to  the  assistant.  On  Saturday 
after  I  came  down  from  the  pulpit  a  lady  came  up  and  gave 
me  her  hand.  Her  face  was  all  smiles,  but  though  I  knew 
she  was  a  former  young  friend  in  Topsham  I  could  not  name 
her.  I  asked  her  na.ne.  "It  used  to  be  Mary  Currier;  now 
it  is  Batten."  She  had  been  one  of  the  many  young  people 
brought  into  the  church  in  Topsham.  And  she  told  me 
that  she  who  used  to  be  lyizz'e  Hood,  now  married,  lived 
her  neighbor.  They  both  had  been  converts  from  the 
world  and  were  devout  disciples  and  still  adhering  firm  to 
their  early  faith.  Do  not  such  fruits  of  labor  bestowed 
make  the  heart  joyful? 

On  Monday  P.  M.  I  joined  Elder  Morse  and  Brother 
Williams  to  Barnet  church  where  a  delegation  from  Presb}-- 
tery  met  to  organize  a  new  congregation.  Formerly  it  had 
been  united  with  Ryegate,  under  Pastor  Beattie,  but  they 
now  wished  to  be  separate  and  call  a  new  pastor  for  his  full 
time.  In  the  new  organization  there  were  seventy  three 
members.  Many  of  the  Topsham  people  were  at  the  meet- 
ing and  I  was  happy  to  meet  them. 

Returning  with  Elder  Mors 3  to  Craftsbury  I  remained 
there  tw^o  or  three  weeks  longer,  and  though  in  feeble 
health  I  preached  every  Sabbath.  Much  of  the  time  I 
could  eat  very  little  food,  though  to  help  me  to  recuperate  I 
worked  often  and  long  in  the  hay-field  with  Mr.  Morse.  I 
rambled  in  the  adjacent  forests,  or  rode  over  the  hills  as 
often  as  possible,  but  my  health  did  not  improve  until  after 
I  started  on  my  journey  homeward.  Two  or  three  days 
before  I  left  Mr.  Morse's,  when  something  was  said  about 
my  ill  health,  he  said  to  me:   "I  guess,   Mr.  Johnston,  you 


gkneva's  old  bell  rings  again.  421 

are  hotnesick. "  Said  I:  "Why  do  you  think  so?"  He 
replied:  "You  may  as  well  own  up."  Said  I:  "How  would 
you  feel  if  you  were  a  thousand  miles  from  your  family  and 
could  not  hope  to  see  them  for  long  weeks?"  To  which 
his  daughter  replied:  "Father  would  be  crazy  if  he  were 
away  from  home  only  three  days.''  That  daughter  was 
Sarah  (now  Mrs.  L,ittle)  who  had  been  a  teacher  in  our 
Freeman's  Mission  in  Washington,  D.  C. 

On  the  last  Sabbath  of  July  I  preached  as  per  appoint- 
ment at  the  Barnet  church.  While  there  I  was  entertained 
in  the  family  of  Elder  A.  Shields,  son  of  one  of  our  former 
Topsham  elders  and  brother  of  Rev.  R.  Shields.  Here  I 
met  Rev.  Mr.  Calderwood  and  family,  missionaries  from 
India.  They  were  visiting  his  sister,  Mrs.  Shields.  He 
was  a  New  I^ight  Covenanter  and  afterwards  returned  to 
India.  While  remaining  at  Mr.  Shield's  I  enjoyed  the 
company  of  the  returned  missionary  and  the  other  friends 
in  a  fishing  party  on  "Harvey's  Pond,"  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  little  lakes  in  the  state,  and  they  are  numerous. 
My  record  says,  "We  caught  fifty-five  good-sized  perch," 
but  I  guess  /didn't  catch  many  of  them,  though  I  expect  I 
ate  my  share  of  them  for  I  always  loved  the  fresh  fish  of 
Vermont,  and  now  I  was  coming  to  my  appetite. 

The  next  week  I  passed  on  to  Topsham  where  I  was 
expected  to  preach  two  Sabbaths,  but  because  of  what  my 
wife  had  written  in  several  letters  from  home  I  could  remain 
only  one.  While  tarrying  there  I  was  happy  in  visiting  and 
receiving  visits  from  dear  old  friends.  My  texts  that  Sab- 
bath were,  "Kxcept  a  man  be  born  again  he  can  not  see  the 
kingdom  of  God,"  and  "Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus."  At 
that  time  I  supposed  I  never  again  would  see  the  Topsham 
people. 

While  in  Vermont  I  received  frequent  letters  from  Mrs. 
Johnston.     After    I    had   left   home  she  had    received   two 


422  LOOKING    BACK    PROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

letters  addressed  to  me  from  Rev.  Dr.  D.  W.  Collins  of  Blairs- 
\dlle,  Pa.,  which  she  forwarded  to  me.  The  second  was  an 
official  letter  from  him  as  the  president  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  "Blairsville  Bo3^s'  Academ}^"  informing  me 
that  I  had  been  elected  principal  of  the  academy  and  that 
they  wished  to  hear  from  me  soon  whether  I  would  accept. 
All  this  was  wholty  unexpected  news.  I  knew  none  of  the 
people  there  and  had  never  had  any  correspondence  with 
any  one  in  reference  to  the  academy.  I  do  not  remember 
that  I  had  known  that  there  was  such  an  institution  there. 
In  her  letter  in  which  she  forwarded  this  official  letter  my 
wife  expressed  a  strong  desire  that  I  would  accept  the  offered 
principalship.  She  wanted  to  get  out  of  Northwood  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  she  saw  herein  an  opportunit5^ 

On  Monday  I  bade  good-by  to  Topsham  and  returned 
home  b}^  way  of  Blairsville  that  I  might  see  the  place  and 
get  desirable  information  before  replying  to  the  Board. 
After  conferring  with  several  of  the  trustees  and  learning 
what  I  had  desired,  I  decided  to  accept  but  did  not  formal^ 
signify  m\'  intention  until  after  I  arrived  home  when  I  wrote 
to  the  Board  m^^  letter  of  acceptance.  The  next  day  after  m}^ 
arrival  home  I  wrote  the  resignation  of  my  professorship  and 
forwarded  it  to  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Education.  In 
this  letter  of  resignation  I  concealed  nothing  from  the  Board 
but  in  plain  and  pointed  words  gave  m}'^  reasons,  nine  in 
number,  for  my  resignation. 

During  our  occupancy  of  the  seminary-  we  had  made 
extensive  repairs  and  had  gone  to  much  expense  to  furnish 
it  to  make  it  comfortable  for  young  lady  occupants.  As 
we  could  not  or  did  not  need  to  remove  our  personal  property- 
we  offered  it  for  sale  at  auction.  Much  loss  was  incurred. 
vSome  valuable  articles  were  almost  given  away.  But  we 
had  incurred  no  debts  and  had  enough  left  to  pay  our  fare 
to   Blairsville  and    l^egin  housekeeping  in  our  new    home 


GENEVANS   OLD   BELL   RINGS   AGAIN.  423 

among  strangers.  Here  we  soon  found  new  friends,  and 
ever)^  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  others  were 
ready  to  help  to  open  the  way  before  us  and  make  our  home 
pleasant.  We  lost  no  time  in  issuing  circulars  and  in  adver- 
tising the  opening  of  the  academy.  This  occurred  on  the 
loth  of  September,  1872. 

Blairsville  is  a  large  old  town  in  Indiana  County,  Pa.,  and 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Conemaugh  River,  a  tributary  of  the 
Alleghany.  It  lies  near  the  Chestnut  Ridge,  the  western 
ridge  of  the  Alleghenies.  In  all  that  part  of  Pennsylvania 
the  religious  element  prevails,  and  it  is  largely  Presbyterian. 
In  no  place  that  I  have  ever  known  is  the  standard  of  intel- 
ligence, morality,  and  religion  so  high.  If  there  had  been  a 
Covenanter  Church  there  we  could  have  found  no  more 
desirable  home.  But  there  was  only  one  Covenanter  family, 
colored  people,  in  the  town.  This  was  a  model  family. 
Lewis  Johnston  and  wife  were  the  parents  of  Rev.  Lewis 
Johnston,  formerly  of  the  Selma  Freedman's  Mission. 
Lewis  Johnston,  Senior,  was  a  very  intelligent  man,  a 
thorough  Covenanter,  of  undoubted  piety,  and  most  highly 
esteemed  by  all  his  neighbors.  He  was,  indeed,  one  of 
earth's  true  noblemen— a  true  Christian  gentleman.  It  was 
a  privilege  as  well  as  a  pleasure  to  be  in  his  company;  and 
most  of  the  time  of  our  residence  there  our  two  families  met 
together  in  prayer-meeting  in  his  house.  The  four  Protest- 
ant churches  were  the  Presbyterian,  the  Methodist,  the 
Lutheran,  and  the  United  Presbyterian.  Of  this  last  Rev. 
Dr.  Collins  was  the  pastor.  Of  the  Presbyterian  Church  the 
pastor  was  Rev.  Dr.  Hill.  To  both  of  those  excellent  men 
while  we  resided  there  a  warm  attachment  grew  up.  They 
were  scholarly,  dignified,  and  companionable  Christian  gen- 
tlemen whose  society  we  enjoyed  and  whose  friendship  we 
highly  prized.  And  they  both  were  earnest  National 
Reformers.     Many  a  time  I  wished  they  were  also  Covenant- 


424  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

ers:  and,  indeed,  Dr.  Collins  and  his  estimable  wife  were 
about  as  mvich  Covenanter  in  principle  as  United  Pres- 
byterian, and  she  "a  little  more  so"  if  she  hadn't  been  a 
loyal  wife.  But  do  3-ou  not  know,  O  reader,  that  in  these 
modern  times  the  wife  is  expected  to  go  with  her  husband, 
especially  if  he  be  a  minister?  But  these  two  last  sentences 
may  be  read  in  parentheses. 

Rev.  Dr.  Hill  was  one  of  the  lovely  Christians;  and 
probabl}-  no  pastor  was  ever  more  loved  by  his  people  than 
was  he.  If  I  have  not  forgotten  he  had  been  pastor  there 
since  his  ordination  long  3'ears  ago.  And  he  was  a  warm 
friend  of  Covenanters.  With  some  of  our  ministers  he  had 
been  well  acquainted,  and  he  always  spoke  and  acted  as 
though  he  honored  the  church  of  the  witnesses.  Among 
his  parishioners  were  Dr.  Marshall  an  elder,  and  his  family. 
Mrs.  Marshall  was  m}^  cousin,  a  daughter  of  my  mother's 
sister.  I  had  no  acquaintance  with  her  before,  but  we  soon 
learned  to  love  her  not  onh'  for  her  mother's  sake  but  her 
own. 

Among  the  Methodists  were  two  men  whom  I  can  not  for- 
get, Rev.  Dr.  Sinsebaugh,  the  presiding  elder,  and  "old 
John  Graff."  The  former  was  a  ver}- scholarly  and  dignified 
though  aflfable  gentleman.  His  son,  an  exceptionall}'  bright 
and  good  bo}'.  was  a  student  in  the  academy,  and  probablj^ 
this  had  something  to  do  with  the  warm  friendship  which 
grew  up  between  us.  At  that  time  we  did  not  know  that  he 
was  a  Free  Mason.  As  he  feared  that  he  would  become  a 
victim  of  consumption,  after  we  left  Blairsville  he  removed 
to  Denver.  Having  learned  that  he  was  a  Mason  I  opened 
a  correspondence  with  him  about  secret  societies.  Some 
years  afterwards  he  moved  to  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  where  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  dining  with  him  and  his  family,  but  as  he 
evidently  had  forgiven  me  for  my  friendly  attack  upon  him 
for  his  being  in  the  lodge,  I  did  not  introduce  the  subject 
again.     "Let  your  moderation  be  known  unto  all  men." 


geneva's  old  bell  rings  again.  425 

The  other  of  the  two  Methodists,  "old  John  Graff,"  was 
a  grand  old  patriarch,  an  Enoch  and  an  Elijah  combined. 
He  was  a  prince  among  his  people,  an  old-time  Abolitionist, 
and  now  a  National  Reformer.  "I  guess"  if  he  had  not 
been  a  Methodist  he  would  have  been  a  Covenanter!  I 
never  loved  a  Methodist  quite  as  much  as  I  loved  myself,  but 
I  greatly  loved  that  dear  old  man.  I  can  not  see  him  now, 
but  I  doubt  not  that  he  is  among  the  celestials. 

The  Blairsville  Academy  was  for  boys  or  3^oung  men  onh*. 
The  building  was  a  fine  brick  house  in  modern  stj'le.  It 
had  been  built  b)'  some  of  the  leading  citizens  in  the  town 
and  vicinity  who  were  stockholders,  each  one  having  a 
scholarship  so  that  his  son  or  a  substitute  received  his  tuition 
free.  Thus  the  teachers  derived  no  revenue  from  those  who 
held  scholarships,  and  a  majorit}'  of  the  Trustees  or  Board 
were  stockholders.  But  we  were  there  partly  of  necessity ,  and 
we  had  a  prett}^  large  share  of  confidence  in  ourselves  as 
teachers;  and  so  we  went  to  work  to  build  up  a  good  school, 
and  we  were  hopeful. 

The  academy  had  no  bell  though  it  had  a  nice  belfry  wait- 
ing for  the  bell.  After  conferring  with  the  trustees  I  said: 
"We  must  have  a  bell."  Going  into  Pittsburg  and  ascer- 
taining the  cost  of  such  as  we  needed,  I  returned  and  solicited 
from  the  stockholders  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars 
with  which  I  bought  a  three  hundred  pound  bell,  had  it 
hung,  and  it  was  soon  heard  far  and  near  calling  the  students 
to  chapel  .services  and  to  recitations.  The  Board  gave  us  a 
vote  of  thanks  and  we  worked  all  the  more  cheerily.  We 
found  the  academy  also  without  a  library,  and  it  was  greatl}" 
needed.  How  could  we  get  it  .-*  Not  wi.shing  to  beg  for  it, 
and  probably  dreaming  of  popularizing  the  school,  I  again 
conferred  with  the  officers  of  the  acadeni}-  and  having  their 
approbation  I  arranged  for  a  course  of  popular  lectures  by 
the  ablest  good  men  obtainable.      Most  of  the  invited  lee- 


426  LOOKING    BACK    li'ROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

turers,  to  whom  I  told  the  object  of  the  course,  agreed  to 
come  without  pay,  I  having  promised  to  meet  all  their  travel- 
ing expenses  and  give  them  entertainment.  I  was  fortunate 
in  obtaining  first-class  men.  I  do  not  remember  for  what 
we  sold  the  course  tickets  but  single  tickets  were  sold  at 
twent5'-five  cents,  and  they  went  "like  hot  cakes"  for  every- 
body wanted  the  academy  to  have  a  good  library.  Among 
the  lecturers  were  Dr.  George  P.  Hays,  then  president  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  Rev.  Dr.  Gill  of  Pitts- 
burg who  gave  his  great  lecture  on  the  '  'Siege  of  Derr}^  and 
the  Battle  of  the  Boyne,"  Rev.  Dr.  A.  M.  Milligan  who  gave 
his  lecture  on  John  Knox,  probably  his  greatest  literarj' 
masterpiece,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Methen}^,  our  missionary  then  on 
a  visit  from  Syria.  The  finest  literary  treat  was  by  the 
eminent  elocutionist,  Professor  Evans,  of  the  Pittsburg  High 
School.  All  the  lectures  were  first-class.  The  needed 
money  was  raised,  and  in  due  time  we  had  on  the  shelves  a 
large  and  well-selected  library  adapted  to  the  needs  of  stu- 
dents. The  citizens  were  pleased  and  the  Board  voted  thanks 
for  what  had  been  done. 

One  more  improvement  was  needed.  In  the  academy 
grounds  there  were  neither  shade  nor  ornamental  trees.  B}' 
the  generous  help  of  quite  a  number  of  the  students  we  pro- 
cured and  set  out  young  maple  trees  which,  if  the}^  grew 
well,  must  have  made  the  surroundings  much  more  beautiful 
in  a  few  years.  Trees!  lyCt  no  house,  whether  for  common 
school  or  university,  be  without  them.  The  celestial  city, 
as  seen  in  vision,  was  beautified  with  them;  and  will  not  the 
"better  country"  be  adorned  by  them? 

While  we  remained  in  Blairsville  I  accepted  few  Presby- 
terial  appointments.  I  was  not  able  to  fulfil  them,  though 
I  preached  frequently  in  the  pulpits  of  the  two  Presbyterian 
Churches,  especially  the  United  Presbyterian.  Nor  were  we 
able  to   attend  worship  at  the  New  Alexandria  church;  it 


gene;va's  old  bell  rings  again.  427 

was  too  far  distant.  Yet,  by  the  invitation  of  the  young 
pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Sproull,  in  May,  1873,  we  enjoyed  a 
delightful  comtiiunion  season.  He  was  a  lovely  young 
minister,  and  when  that  congregation  lost  their  pastor  they 
suffered  a  very  great  loss. 

In  the  winter  of  that  j^ear  there  was  a  successful  National 
Reform  meeting  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Both  Presby- 
terian pastors  did  good  service.  Rev.  Dr.  Sloane  was  the 
principal  .speaker  in  the  evening,  and  he  did  excellent  serv- 
ice. Dr.  Collins  and  the  principal  of  the  academy  were 
appointed  delegates  to  the  approaching  National  Convention 
in  New  York.  This  was  a  grand  meeting,  largely  attended 
by  delegates  from  nineteen  .states.  Rev.  Dr.  Ting  was  one 
of  the  platform  speakers.  The  presence  and  cooperation  of 
such  a  good  and  great  man  were  presumptive  evidence  that 
the  cause  was  of  God.  Yet  infidels  were  there  and  endeav- 
ored to  get  a  hearing,  and  they  succeeded  in  getting  in  a 
remon.strance.  It  was  bitter  and  defiant.  Mrs.  Jane  G. 
Swisshelm  was  there  from  Pitt.sburg  to  speak  for  the  cause. 
The  city  papers  either  ignored  the  convention  or  ridiculed  it. 

Synod  met  that  year  at  Northwood,  Ohio.  By  giving  my 
cla.s.ses  to  a  .special  teacher  during  my  ab.sence,  Mrs.  John- 
ston taking  charge  of  the  academy,  I  was  able  to  attend. 
As  several  times  before,  I  took  daily  reports  of  the  proceed- 
ings and  sent  them  to  the  Pittsburg  Eveniyig  Telegraph. 

A  while  before  Synod  the  congregation  of  Klliota,  Minn. , 
which  had  had  no  permanent  .supply  since  the  death  of  Rev. 
James  Buck,  asked  the  home  Board  to  send  me  thither  as 
stated  supply.  Subsequently  I  was  appointed  by  the  Board, 
and  after  taking  it  into  prayerful  consideration  accepted  the 
appointment.  As  soon  as  practicable  I  asked  a  meeting  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  that  I  might  notify  them  of  my  inten- 
tion to  resign.  Accordingly  I  sent  in  a  letter  of  resignation 
expressed   in   very  kindly  and  regretful  terms,  for  we  had 


428  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THK   SUNSET   LAND. 

received  only  kindness  and  honor  from  all.  I  gave  only  two 
reasons  for  resignation,  viz.:  "i.  Because  the  institution  does 
not  afford  adequate  support;  2.  Because  at  their  request  I 
had  been  appointed  to  take  charge  of  a  church  or  congrega- 
tion in  the  west."  There  were  additional  reasons,  however, 
that  had  much  influence  upon  us  in  making  this  decision. 
Two  or  three  members  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  my  warm 
friends,  advised  me  to  return  to  more  direct  ministerial  work. 
While  in  Blairsville  we  had  no  opportunity  to  enjoy  fellow- 
ship with  our  own  brethren  in  public  ordinances,  besides,  if 
we  would  continue  there  our  children  would  be  deprived  of 
privileges  to  which  they  were  entitled  bj^  birth.  And  then  I 
hoped  that  Elliota  would  be  a  good  missionary  field. 

The  academic  year  being  closed,  adjusting  our  domestic 
affairs  so  as  to  remove  to  a  new,  strange,  and  far-distant 
field  of  labor,  and  bidding  adieu  to  the  many  friends  whom 
we  had  learned  to  love,  we  bade  good-by  to  beautiful  west- 
ern Penn.sylvania  than  which  I  know  of  no  more  desirable 
place  for  a  Covenanter  home. 


CHAPTER  XUV. 
In  the  Home  Mission  Field. 

On  our  journey  to  Minnesota  we  stopped  first  at  Pittsburg 
to  bid  good-by  to  Dr.  Metheny  and  family  soon  to  return  to 
Syria;  and  then  with  my  sister  at  Belle-Centre  we  spent  the 
Sabbath.  From  this  place  we  had  in  charge  "little  Eddie 
Buck,"  the  second  sou  of  the  late  pastor  of  EUiota.  The  son 
was  going  home  to  his  widowed  mother. 

After  crossing  the  Mississippi  at  McGregor,  Iowa,  my 
family  turned  aside  to  visit  friends  at  El  Dorado  and  at  Rich- 
field, Iowa,  while  with  my  little  boy  in  charge  I  went  on 
direct  to  EUiota.  From  Decorah,  Iowa,  the  terminus  of  the 
railroad,  we  rode  on  a  Covenanter  lumber  wagon  to  EUiota, 
twenty  miles  or  more,  and  did  not  arrive  until  one  o'clock 
in  the  night.  That  was  a  strange  introduction  to  my  new 
field  of  labor.  Riding  on  a  pile  of  boards,  behind  a  mule 
team,  the  night  so  dark  I  could  not  see  even  the  long  ears 
of  the  donkeys,  and  with  a  driver  that,  though  a  Covenanter 
brother,  had  neither  fun  nor  cheer  sufficient  to  while  away 
the  dreary  hours  of  night,  and  then  entering  into  the  little 
Minnesota  town  now  enveloped  in  darkness  and  as  silent  as 
the  grave,  a  wave  of  gloom  passed  through  and  over  me. 
Is  this  the  place  to  which  the  Master  has  sent  me  to  work 
for  him  ?  Or  was  it  only  the  Board  of  Missions  that  wished 
me  to  come?  Or  was  it  only  I  myself  that  thought  I  had 
a  divine  call  to  work  in  Minnesota  ?  Such  questions  must 
have  been  in  my  mind  when  our  muleteer  drove  us  up  to 
a  farm   cottage   and  set   us  down   before   the   door.     That 

(429) 


430  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

cottage  was  the  dwelling  of  Elder  Henry  Dean.  I  had 
formed  his  acquaintance  in  St.  Louis  long  years  ago.  Then 
he  was  unmarried.  Now  he  was  the  head  of  a  large  family. 
Mrs.  Dean  was  the  sister  of  my  friend  Rev.  J.  M.  Armour 
at  whose  mother's  house  in  St.  Louis  was  my  home  while 
as  a  licentiate  I  was  fulfilling  Presbyterial  appointments  in 
that  cit3^ 

Rising  with  the  morning  sun,  I  looked  out  upon  a  beau- 
tiful country  but  a  poor  little  pioneer  town  in  no  way  invit- 
ing to  one  who  had  so  long  been  among  the  hills  and  streams 
and  forests  of  Vermont  and  western  Pennsylvania.  -But 
there  were  men  and  women  and  children  there  as  well  as 
elsewhere.  They  needed  the  same  Gospel  that  had  saved 
others;  there  the  souls  were  just  as  precious  as  in  more 
highly  favored  lands;  and  there  church-members  needed 
some  one  to  help  them  to  live  a  higher  and  more  Christ- 
like life.  I  found  myself  in  the  faniil}'  of  an  Irishman  but 
a  generous  soul,  an  intelligent  and  public-spirited  Cov- 
enanter and,  withal,  ambitious  to  be  a  leader.  His  wife  was 
almost  a  model  and  her  children  interesting  and  beautiful. 
No  man  in  Elliota  was  so  quick  to  anticipate  the  wants  of 
the  new  preacher,  and  no  j^ouug  man  so  quick,  to  help  in 
time  of  need  as  his  oldest  son,  Willie  Dean.  In  this  kind 
family  I  was  entertained  until  my  own  came  up  from  Iowa. 

Before  I  entered  upon  the  work  in  Elliota  I  was  anxious 
to  be  guided  by  the  Spirit  and  to  be  blessed  as  a  laborer. 
Before  the  first  Sabbath  the  following  was  written  in  my 
journal;  "Not  without  anxiety  do  I  look  forward  to  my  first 
Sabbath  here.  Wh}'  the  Master  has  brought  me  here,  what 
he  has  for  me  to  do,  what  he  intends  to  do  with  me  and  with 
the  members  of  my  family,  I  can  not  know.  Let  him  do  with 
me  as  may  seem  good  to  him;  but,  O  that  he  may  bless  me 
as  a  laborer  in  this  part  of  his  vineyard,  making  me  an  instru- 
ment  in  the  conversion  of  many  and  of  the  growth  of  his 


IN   THE   HOME   MISSION   FIELD,  43 1 

church  here.  And  I  pray  God  to  make  the  bringing  of  my 
dear  family  here  the  occasion  of  the  conversion  and  salva- 
tion of  my  daughters  and  the  comfort  and  usefulness  of  my 
wife.  Here  I  desire  to  reconsecrate  myself  to  the  work  of 
Christ." 

The  house  of  worship,  a  neat  and  medium-sized  church, 
was  nearly  half  a  mile  outside  of  the  village.  On  the  first 
Sabbath  it  was  tolerably  well  filled  by  people  of  whom  I 
suppose  about  one-half  were  Covenanters.  There  was  only 
the  forenoon  service.  While  Mr.  Buck  was  the  pastor  his 
health  was  so  feeble  he  was  unable  to  preach  more  than 
once,  or  the  people  may  not  have  desired  more;  at  all  events 
the  people  had  become  accustomed  to  only  one  service  and 
wished  no  more.  But  there  had  been  a  Sabbath-school 
which  they  supposed  would  be  about  as  profitable  as  another 
.sermon.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  in  many  places  and  in 
various  denominations  the  people  do  not  wish  more  than  one 
.service,  and  not  a  few  wish  this  one  to  be  short. 

Very  soon  after  the  first  Sabbath  I  hastened  to  meet  my 
family  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Brockway,  the  husband  of  our 
sister  Almira  Rogers  who  had  been  with  us  in  Topsham  and 
then  at  Northwood  up  until  we  left  to  go  to  New  Castle. 
During  those  two  years  in  Northwood  she  was  with  us  as  a 
student  and  as  an  assistant  teacher.  She  was  a  lovely  child 
of  nature,  but  I  am  not  sure  that  prior  to  her  coming  to  be 
a  member  of  our  family  she  was  a  child  of  grace.  Now  .she 
heard  good  preaching,  attended  prayer-meetings,  studied 
Covenanter  principles,  and  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  divine 
Teacher.  She  learned  of  him  and  found  rest  to  her  .soul. 
Then  she  was  found  sitting  with  us  at  our  Covenanter 
communion  table.  She  was  happy  and  we  rejoiced.  Her 
religion  was  not  mere  profession.  She  loved  her  I^ord,  and 
she  was  ready  to  bear  reproach  for  his  sake.  A  year  or  two 
after  her  return  home  to  her  mother  she  was  married  to  Mr, 


432  LOOKING    B\CK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

Brockwa}^,  a  returned  soldier.  Erelong  her  health  failed, 
and  soon  she  became  a  victim  of  the  '  'fell  destroyer. ' '  Before 
her  sickness  and  to  the  last  neither  her  faith  in  Christ  nor 
her  love  to  the  church  ever  weakened.  Far  awa}'  from  the 
fellowship  of  the  brethren  and  surrounded  by  the  people  of 
other  churches,  she  continued  true  to  her  vows  and  con- 
tended for  the  truth  she  had  espoused  and  the  church  in 
which  she  had  made  an  intelligent  profession.  After  a 
while  I  visited  her  a  second  time  and  found  her  near  the 
dark  valle3',  but  she  was  a  meek  sufferer  and  a  happy 
Christian.  Faith  had  triumphed  and  she  was  waiting  the 
coming  of  the  L,ord.  How  beautiful  is  the  death  of  a  good 
woman  who  walks  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death   "leaning  upon  the  Beloved." 

vShortly  after  the  arrival  at  Elliota  of  our  little  stock  of 
household  goods  we  bought  a  small  cottage  of  three  rooms 
and  a  half  acre  of  ground  adjacent  to  the  church  lot.  The 
cost  was  six  hundred  and  twent^'-five  dollars,  a  part  of  which 
we  "paid  down."  For  the  remainder  I  gave  mj'  note.  Elder 
Elliott  and  son  volunteering  to  go  my  security.  That  was 
the  first  real  estate  we  ever  owned,  and  I  am  not  sure  that 
I  did  not  feel  a  little  proud  of  our  riches  so  suddenly  acquired. 
That  good  old  elder  and  son  ever  had  our  gratitude,  for  they 
helped  us  to  get  a  nice  little  home  so  that  monthl)'  rent  bills 
did  not  stare  us  in  the  face.  Three  rooms  only?  Yes;  and 
we  lived  like  king  and  queen,  and  our  little  country  girls 
were  as  happy  as  princesses. 

After  two  or  three  Sabbaths  of  rather  tentative  preaching 
I  began  to  explain  the  Psalms  in  order  and  to  preach  in  the 
afternoons  in  neighboring  schoolhouses.  For  a  while  I 
preached  at  a  schoolhouse  four  miles  north,  and  afterwards 
at  another  about  the  same  distance  south  in  Iowa.  At  both 
places  many  of  the  church-members  attended  as  well  as  fair 
audiences  of  the  "world's  people."     Meanwhile  there  was 


IN    THE    HOME    MISSION    El  ELD.  433 

organized  in  the  Sabbath-school  a  large  Bible-class  and  I 
was  invited  to  teach  it.  We  began  the  study  of  the  book  of 
Hebrews.  As  yet  the  International  lycssons  had  not  been 
introduced.  During  the  first  year  I  ceased  to  preach  at  the 
schoolhouse  in  the  north  and  preached  every  Sabbath  after- 
noon at  the  house  in  Iowa.  And  here  we  organized  a 
Sabbath-school,  Henry  Dean  superintendent.  It  was  largely 
attended  b}'  people  some  of  whom  had  never  before  studied 
the  Bible.  We  had  a  corps  of  good  teachers  and  distributed 
Sabbath  literature.  The  attendance  upon  preaching  by  all 
classes  in  the  neighborhood  was  good;  and  it  grew  until  the 
house  was  always  crowded.  I  think  m^-  labors  there  were 
blessed.  Some  that  attended  at  first  in  the  schoolhouse 
afterwards  came  to  the  church  as  regular  hearers,  and  some 
of  them  afterwards  came  out  of  the  world  and  united  with 
the  church.  The  attendance  at  the  church  continued  to  in- 
crease until  the  house  was  nearly  always  full  if  not  crowded. 
The  missionary  was  much  encouraged  and  was  joyful  and 
thankful. 

S^mod  met  this  year,  1874,  in  Philadelphia.  The  distance 
was  great,  the  expenses  heavy,  but  I  felt  that  I  must  go. 
At  that  time  the  temperance  crusade  was  growing  rapidly 
and,  as  never  before,  w^omen  were  coming  to  the  front. 
Only  a  few  days  before  leaving  home,  at  a  temperance  meet- 
ing in  our  church  in  Elliota  a  woman  gave  a  lecture  marked 
by  abilit}'  and  earnestness.  Even  in  Minnesota  the  tide  was 
rising  rapidly.  Leaving  my  little  family  in  the  care  of  Him 
who  had  always  cared  for  us  I  started  alone  on  the  long 
journey.  At  Chicago  I  stopped  long  enough  to  hear  part  of 
the  great  trial  of  Professor  Swing  on  the  charge  of  heresy. 
His  prosecutor  in  Presbytery  was  Rev.  Dr.  Patton.  At  Fort 
Wayne  I  remained  over  a  day  to  visit  friends,  Mr.  J.  C. 
Davis  and  family,  brother-in-law  of  Eliza,  all  being  devoted 
Presbyterians;  also  my  young  friend  Robert  G.  McNiece 
28 


434         i.uoKiNG  i;vcK  from  the  sunskt  i^and. 

who  had  gone  there  as  principal  of  the  high  school  but  was 
now  editor  of  a  daily  journal.  While  I  tarried  in  Fort 
Wayne  I  attended  two  sessions  of  the  Woman's  Indiana  State 
Temperance  Convention,  a  great  gathering  of  the  women 
who  had  been  engaged  in  the  crusade  of  the  winter  before. 
Mother  Stuart  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits.  Prior  to  that 
time  I  never  had  seen  so  many  good  women  and  earnest 
souls  in  one  as.sembly.  It  was  good  to  be  there;  and  I 
received  a  new  baptism  in  the  cause  of  temperance. 

Pa.ssing  on  in  my  pilgrimage  to  Synod  I  stopped  off  al 
Belle-Centre,  O.,  and  spent  the  Sabbath  with  my  sister,  a 
privilege  always  prized  ])y  her  youngest  brother.  I  had 
time  to  stop  over  a  few  hours  at  Pittsburg  where  I  found  the 
Crusaders  and  other  temperance  friends  in  great  agitation. 
Thirty-two  of  the  crusaders  (women)  had  been  arrested  and 
put  in  prison  on  the  charge  of  obstructing  the  sidewalks  be- 
fore the  saloons  where  the}'  met  for  praj-er.  In  the  afternoon 
a  great  mass-meeting  was  held  and  indignation  speeches 
aroused  the  greater  opposition  to  the  liquor  traffic.  At  that 
time  there  was  in  Pittsburg  an  active  temperance  organiza- 
tion of  women,  the  "Woman's  Temperance  League."  The 
president  was  Mrs.  Collins'  wife  of  Dr.  Samuel  Collins.  He 
was  a  senior  in  Franklin  College  when  I  was  a  sophomore. 
He  was  a  vSeceder,  I  was  a  Covenanter,  but  we  became  friends; 
and  .so  when  I  was  invited  at  the  time  of  that  excitement  in 
Pittsburg  to  dine  with  the  doctor  and  his  good  wife  I  was 
"at  home."  Busy  workers  in  good  causes  are  earth's 
nobles. 

During  the  week  of  Synod  a  public  temperance  meeting 
was  held  in  the  church.  It  was  arranged  by  Dr.  T.  P. 
Stevenson,  who  with  many  others  had  caught  the  spirit  of 
the  crusaders.  He  had  the  audacity  to  call  me  to  the  plat- 
form as  a  .speaker  without  previous  warning.  I  was  helped, 
however,  b\'  what  I  had  so  recently  seen  and  heard  at  Fort 
Wayne  and  Pittsburg. 


IN    Till';    IIUMK    IMLSSION    I'lKLU.      ■  435 

The  sacrament  of  the    supper  was    not  administered    in 
ElHota  until  a  year  after  I  began  to  preach  or  soon  after  my 
return    from  Synod.     At  that  communion  there  were  nine 
persons,   nearly  all  young  people,  received  into  the  church 
on  profession  of  faith.     A  tenth  was  received  on  certificate. 
Before  this  addition  there  were  only  twenty -nine  members. 
Thus  there  were  now  thirty-nine.     One  of  the  twenty-nine 
was  an  invalid  and  could  not  attend  public  worship;  another 
lived  so  far  distant  that  she  was  rarely  there.     At  the  com- 
munion  I    had    no  assistance.     I    had  invited  Rev.   U.   H. 
Coulter  and  expected  him  until  near  the  time,  but  he  failed 
to  come.     I  was  greatly  helped  all  through  the  four  da>-s  of 
the  service.     My  journal  of  that  date  tells  how  happy  I  was. 
"Monday,  June  29.     Yesterday,  our  communion  Sabl^ath, 
was  a  great  and  good  day  to  me.     What  joy  filled  my  soul, 
and  what  gratitude  my  heart,  because,  in  the  good  providence 
of  the  Redeemer,  my  own  dear  daughters  sat  with  us  at  the 
communion  table;  and  I  hope  their  hearts  have  been  touched 
by  the  love  of  Christ.     I  was  greatly  helped  during  the  day; 
and  I  hope  the  Spirit  of  God  did  not  leave  me  alone,  though 
I  had  no  help  from  man." 

In  March,  1874,  I  commenced  a  series  of  lectures  on  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews.  The  design  was  to  teach  the 
nature  and  power  of  faith  as  illustrated  in  the  chapter.  In 
doing  this  it  was  necessary  to  try  to  .show  the  greatness,  the 
excellency,  and  the  beauty  of  the  characters  catalogued  by 
the  inspired  writer.  While  I  was  preaching  this  long  series 
of  discourses  I  often  diverged  from  the  line  of  worthies  and 
]ireached  on  other  themes  as  duty  called  or  incidents  sug- 
gested; but  I  did  not  finish  the  course  until  after  I  left 
Hlliota.  These  sermons  required  much  and  special  study. 
In  this  and  in  their  presentation  I  had  great  deHght.  What 
study  is  more  interesting  and  profitable  than  that  of  char- 
acter   and    l)iography?     On  verse  32  .six  or  seven  sermons 


436  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK   SUNSET    LAND. 

were  preached.  That  on  Jephthah  was  the  most  difficult. 
To  the  Bible  student  the  reason  is  obvious.  I  did  not  follow 
the  common  theory,  that  the  Hebrew  judge  offered  his 
daughter  in  sacrifice,  but  I  showed,  I  hope  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  unprejudiced,  that,  by  the  consent  of  his  pious 
daughter,  Jephthah  devoted  her  to  a  life  of  perpetual 
celibacy,  and  all  this  in  accordance  with  the  well-understood 
principles  of  vows  as  made  b)^  the  Hebrews. 

During  the  first  year  we  were  in  Minnesota  we  formed  a 
pleasant  acquaintance  with  Rev.  D.  L,.  Keihle,  a  Pres- 
byterian minister  and  the  county  superintendent  of  schools. 
He  was  a  first-class  educator,  and  afterwards  was  chosen 
principal  of  the  State  Normal  School.  During  the  winter  of 
1874  he  held  a  county  teachers'  institute  at  Lenora,  a  town 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  Elliota,  at  which  he  had  invited 
me  to  give  a  lecture  on  the  Bible  in  the  schools.  My  wife 
and  I  went  to  the  institute  with  our  own  horse  and  sleigh. 
It  was  a  bitterly  cold  night.  After  I  had  given  my  lecture 
we  started  home  and  had  come  within  about  a  mile  of  home 
when  driving  at  a  brisk  rate  our  sleigh  was  upset  and 
the  horse  thrown  down.  The  sleigh  turned  entirely  over. 
Mrs.  Johnston  was  thrown  out  into  the  deep  snow  on  the 
side  of  the  road  and  received  no  injury.  I  fell  under  the 
sleigh  and  on  the  hard  road.  My  arms  and  legs  were  so 
pinioned  under  and  by  the  sleigh  which  was  held  down 
tight  by  the  weight  of  the  horse  upon  the  shafts,  that  I 
would  have  perished  in  the  cold  in  a  short  time  had  not  my 
wife  been  able  to  lift  the  hinder  part  of  the  sleigh  off  me. 
Being  released,  and  then  releasing  the  animal  from  the 
broken  shafts,  we  walked  home,  I  with  pain  and  difficulty. 
In  the  overturning  of  the  sleigh  one  of  my  lower  limbs  was 
seriously  injured  and  for  several  weeks  I  was  a  cripple  but 
by  the  use  of  crutches  I  was  able  to  get  to  church  on  Sab- 
bath and  preach  as  before;  but  I  never  forgot  that  that  night 


IN    THE    HOME   MISSION   FIELD.  437 

I  owed  my  rescue  if  not  my  life  also  to  Him  who  had  given 
my  wife  strong  arms.  Other  members  of  the  family  were 
victims  of  serious  accidents.  While  riding  in  a  "spring 
wagon"  in  company  with  some  of  her  friends,  Mrs.  John- 
ston was  thrown  out  violently  upon  the  ground.  Falling 
upon  her  head  she  received  serious  injury  to  the  spinal 
column  in  the  region  of  the  neck.  From  this  injury  she 
never  fully  recovered  but  often  suffered  severe  pain.  How 
often  we  narrowly  escape  from  death !  About  the  same  time 
our  second  daughter,  Mary,  was  riding  in  a  similar  wagon 
in  company  with  Miss  Nettie  Dean;  their  seat  broke  and 
they  were  both  thrown  out  and  both  received  harm.  In  the 
fall  our  daughter's  collar-bone  was  broken.  We  had  five 
or  six  miles  to  drive  home.  I  did  not  know  how  serious 
was  the  injury,  but  that  hour  or  more  was  one  of  great 
anxiety  and  intense  and  painful  sympathy  on  the  part  of  the 
father.     How  divine  is  the  instinctive  parental  sympathy! 

"Such  pity  as  a  father  hath 
Unto  his  chiklren  dear." 

Those  who  have  read  the  former  pages  of  this  book 
remember  that  I  was  fond  of  a  good  horse  and  loved  to  be 
in  the  saddle.  At  Elliota  I  was  not  a  pastor  but  a  quasi- 
pastor,  and  so  had  constant  need  of  a  horse  and  bugg}'  or 
sleigh.  I  bought  a  beautiful  animal,  not  a  "Charlie"  but 
as  beautiful  and  kind.  For  winter  we  had  our  sleigh  and 
buffalo  robe  and  "freestone."  For  summer  when  it  was 
needed  for  the  family  I  hired  a  buggy.  When  not  needed, 
I  mounted  my  saddle,  and  off  loped  my  dapple  gray,  "Fan- 
nie." Anent  the  harness  there  is  a  little  incident.  One 
winter  morning  when  I  went  to  the  stable  to  look  after 
Fannie,  the  harness  was  gone.  It  was  new  and  valuable. 
As  snow  had  fallen  recently  I  traced  the  footsteps  of  the 
thief  through  the  grove  back  of  the  stable  and  around  to 
the  public  road  where  I  could  trace  them  no  more.     I  sup- 


438  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK    SUNSKT    LAND. 

posed  I  never  would  hear  of  the  lost  harness  again.  M}^ 
neighbors  soon  heard  of  my  loss  and  gave  me  no  ground  to 
expect  ever  to  recover  it.  After  a  week  or  two  when  I  went 
out  to  the  stable  in  the  morning,  lo!  there  hung  a  nice  new 
harness  very  similar  to  the  other.  Had  the  thief's  con- 
science troubled  him?  Or  had  some  "brownie"  been  there? 
After  a  week  or  two  some  bird  of  the  air  told  me  that  a  few 
of  our  Covenanter  brethi'en  had  bought  the  new  harness  and 
piit  it  in  the  stable  when  we  were  enjoying  "nature's  sweet 
restorer."  When  that  harness  was  needed  no  more  it  was 
sold  and  the  money  handed  over  to  one  of  the  donors  for  the 
benefit  of  a  poor  widow  and  mother  in  the  congregation. 

But  what  about  the  lost  harness?  A  month  or  two  after 
it  was  stolen  I  was  informed  that  it  had  been  discovered  in 
the  possession  of  a  farmer  some  eight  or  ten  miles  distant. 
He  had  sent  word  to  me  that  if  I  would  go  for  it  he  would 
return  it  to  me.  The  thief  had  sold  it  to  him.  The  bu)'er 
said  he  did  not  know  that  it  was  stolen  property.  When  I 
went  for  the  harness  I  identified  it  as  mine  and  he  gave  it 
to  me  without  charge.  T  always  suspected  that  a  part  of  the 
truth  was  not  told. 

As  my  salary  was  small  and  we  in  debt  for  our  little 
home,  and  that  our  daughters  might  have  the  advantage  of 
a  school,  Mrs.  Johnston  taught  two  terms  in  the  district 
public  school.  This  helped  to  bring  in  more  children  into 
the  Sabbath-school.  And  for  similar  reasons  I  taught  dur- 
ing two  short  terms  a  small  class  in  the  higher  branches. 
This  gave  our  older  daughter  an  opportunity  to  continue 
her  Latin  that  she  had  begun  in  Blair.sville.  Most  of  the 
young  people  of  the  class  were  in  our  Sabbath -school. 

Sometime  during  the  summer  of  '75  there  was  a  total 
eclipse  of  the  moon.  It  began  probably  about  10  or  11 
o'clock  at  night.  The  weather  was  pleasant  and  many 
hoped  for  a  clear  sky  that  the  eclipse  might  be  seen.     Wish- 


IN    THE    IIOMIC    I\[I.SSION    FIELD.  439 

ing  to  teach  the  people  a  lesson  on  astronomy  and  to  lead 
their  minds  to  the  works  of  God,  on  the  Sabbath  preceding 
the  eclipse  I  announced  that  on  the  evening  of  the  eclipse  I 
would  give  a  lecture  on  eclipses.  The  church  was  crowded 
with  young  and  old  from  the  entire  region  round  about. 
With  what  little  apparatus  I  could  extemporize  the  lecturer 
thought  he  had  an  interested  audience  that  learned  much 
about  a  phenomenon  of  which  most  of  them  had  known 
almost  nothing.  Every  pastor  should  be  master  of  astron- 
omy, the  greatest  of  the  natural  sciences.  If  he  is  not,  he 
is  a  great  loser  himself  and  he  lacks  what  is  necessary  to  a 
good  pulpit  teacher  and  expounder  whose  duty  it  is  to  use 
all  possible  means  to  help  the  people  to  know  God. 

In  October  of  the  first  year  I  organized  an  evening  class, 
mostly  of  youth,  for  the  study  of  Bible  truth.  We  used  the 
larger  catechism  as  the  text-book.  For  a  juvenile  class  in 
theology  no  better  text-book  can  be  found.  One  leading 
design  of  this  class  was  to  prepare  teachers  for  Sabbath- 
school  work. 

The  Synod  of  1875  met  at  Coulterville,  111.,  I  was 
away  from  home  only  one  Sabbath.  That  was  spent  at 
Elkhorn  in  whose  old  brick  church  I  had  assisted  Father 
Sloane  at  his  communion  shortly  after  my  licensure.  This 
old  church  was  now  the  property  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
congregation.  Rev.  Jas.  Henderson  the  pastor.  He  had 
been  a  college  mate  of  my  oldest  brother,  and  they  were 
very  warm  friends.  I  had  formed  his  acquaintance  during 
my  residence  at  New  Concord,  Ohio,  where  he  was  a 
seceder  and  an  Abolitionist  of  the  Boanerges  kind.  As  he 
attended  several  sessions  of  Synod  he  hunted  me  up,  and,  I 
suppose  more  for  mj^  brother's  sake  than  my  own,  invited 
me  to  preach  for  him  on  Sabbath,  Saturday  P.  M.  I  rode 
home  with  him  and  on  Sabbath  preached  one  sermon  and 
was  royally  entertained  the  two  nights.     In  the  evening  we 


440  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

went  to  hear  Rev.  Dr.  Jas.  Kennedy  preach  in  Oakdale. 
No  man  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  could  preach  such  a 
sermon  as  was  his,  so  queer  and  withal  instructive. 

Our  summer  communion  was  held  soon  after  Synod.  I 
was  favored  by  the  assistance  of  Brother  Armour  who  was 
then  making  a  long  visit  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Dean.  Dur- 
ing the  occasion  he  gave  us  good  sermons  all  the  time.  My 
action  sermon  was  on  the  text,  Matt.  26:29:  "And  he  went 
a  little  farther  and  fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed,  saying:  O 
my  Father,"  etc.  It  was  a  preciolis  season  of  communion. 
Three  new  members  were  received  on  examination,  all  heads 
of  families.  Two  of  them  were  mothers  and  widows.  Both 
had  buried  their  husbands  recently.  One  of  them  brought 
with  her  four  little  children  who  were  baptized  on  Sabbath 
afternoon.  Did  these  make  seven  additions  to  the  church  ? 
Besides  the  three  who  were  admitted,  a  young  man,  a  son 
of  an  excellent  Covenanter  mother,  applied  for  admission 
and  was  examined  by  the  session.  In  my  journal  of  that 
date  I  find  this  record:  "But  as  he  did  not  approve  of  our 
principles  and  practice  on  Civil  Government  and  on  Psal- 
mody, he  was  not  admitted.  I  fear,  however,  that  there 
is  a  great  and  deeper  evil.  I  can  see  in  him  no  good  evi- 
dence of  conversion.  I  earnestly  hope  God  will  hedge  up 
the  way  against  every  one  whose  heart  is  not  changed." 

During  the  two  years  of  labor  in  EUiota  there  were  many 
things  that  made  it  a  pleasant  home  and  a  hopeful  mission- 
ary field;  but  there  were  also  some  dark  clouds  that  hung 
low  sometimes.  The  country  though  not  old  was  beautiful 
and  fertile  and  healthful.  Some  of  the  members  of  the 
congregation  were  God's  chosen  ones;  and  such  was  one  of 
the  elders.  Father  Lemon.  His  memory  is  precious  yet. 
And  many  of  the  youth  were  not  only  promising  but 
endeared  to  us  all.  Besides,  except  a  small  Methodist 
Church  ours  was  the  only  one  of  any  kind  in  the  neighbor- 


tN   THE    HOME   MISSION   FIELD.  44I 

hood.  On  the  other  hand  the  whole  community  had  been 
leavened  largely  with  isms  and  sects  and  almost  anything 
except  orthodox  religion.  No  sane  Covenanter  minister 
could  expect  to  build  up  a  good-sized  congregation  except 
by  many  years  of  hard  work,  if  ever.  More  disheartening 
than  all  were  the  alienations  that  existed  between  some  of 
the  people;  the  worst  of  which  was  the  lack  of  love  between 
two  of  the  elders,  and  between  an  elder  and  the  deacon. 
Two  of  the  elders  who  were  of  the  same  nationality,  and 
who  had  hot  grace  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  resist  the 
devil  or  to  bridle  the  tongue,  sometimes  manifested  in  ses- 
sion their  lack  of  brotherly  love.  As  moderator  I  had  to 
hold  tight  reins.  By  this  I  suppose  I  gained  the  disfavor 
of  one  of  them  if  not  both.  These  things  were  known  to 
the  people  and  harm  followed.  I  saw  the  need  of  addition 
to  the  session,  and  I  believed  that  some  of  the  evils  could 
be  removed  better  if  I  were  an  installed  pastor  instead  of 
only  a  stated  supply.  I  indicated  these  facts  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Missions  but  he  did  nothing,  and  the 
congregation  seemed  to  have  settled  down  in  the  opinion 
that  I  was  there  as  a  fixture  and  that  church  matters  were 
sufficiently  prosperous  to  lead  to  contentment.  To  the 
quasi-pastor  it  did  not  appear  thus.  He  was  there  by  the 
appointment  of  the  Board  and  not  by  the  choice  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  he  did  not  know  what  emergencies  might  arise. 
When  in  this  state  of  mind  the  following  entry  was  made 
in  my  diary:  ''Tuesday,  July  6.  To-day  I  have  written  my 
letter  of  resignation  to  the  Board  of  Missions  signifying  my 
intention  of  leaving  m)'  charge  here  as  soon  as  a  substitute 
can  be  sent.  I  have  also  written  letters  to  the  elders  here 
informing  them  of  my  resignation  and  that  I  have  written 
or  will  write  to  the  Board  to  that  effect.  This  course  I 
pursue  not  because  of  any  known  dissatisfaction  with  me, 
either  on  the  part  of  the  congregation  or  of  the  Board,  but 


4-1-2  LOOKING    BACtv    VRIM    THE   SUMSef    LAND. 

for  various  reasons  mostly  known  only  to  myself — my  feeble 
health,  my  belief  that  the  settlement  of  a  pastor  would  be 
very  advantageous  to  the  cause  and  people  here,  but  that 
the  pastor  should  be  a  young  man,  while  I  would  not  likely 
be  desired.  At  all  events,  I  have  been  here  two  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  I  hear  of  no  purpose  to  arrange  for  a  call. 
I  am  liable  to  liv^e  and  labor  here  a  few  years,  and  then  may 
have  to  leave  and  be  homeless.  Then,  I  see  no  prospect  of 
being  able  to  educate  ray  children  if  we  remain  here.  Be- 
sides, their  society  is  not  such  as  I  could  desire  for  them. 
I  am  not  contented  to  .see  them  form  attachments  here  that 
might  be  permanent." 

In  addition  to  these  there  were  other  things  that  led  to 
m}'  determination  to  resign.  During  the  summer  I  had 
read  much  about  the  growing  influx  of  the  Chinese  in  Cali- 
fornia and  of  how  they  were  accessible  b}^  missionaries.  M}" 
interest  in  the  cause  of  missions  increased  and  ra)"  desire  to 
work  among  the  Chinese  became  strong.  While  thinking 
on  these  things,  but  before  I  saw  any  way  b}^  which  it  could 
be  practicable  for  us  to  go  to  the  Pacific  Coast  and  be  mis- 
sionaries there,  I  received  a  letter  from  a  friend  residing  in 
Oakland,  Cal.,  but  doing  bu.siness  in  San  Francisco — Mr. 
Carlos  White.  He  had  been  a  member  of  Topsham  congre- 
gation, was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  and  had 
married  and  removed  to  Oakland.  He  was  now'  engaged  in 
printing  and  supplying  parts  of  .sheets  for  country  newspapers; 
the}'  were  called  "patent  outsides,"  He  needed  an  editor. 
As  I  had  been  his  pa.stor,  and  as  he  knew  that  I  was  not 
installed  at  Elliota,  he  wrote  to  persuade  me  to  go  to  San 
Francisco.  He  offered  me  a  fair  remuneration  if  I  would  go 
and  do  for  him  the  needed  work.  This  letter  seemed  to 
indicate  the  hand  of  Providence  and  the  mind  of  the  Master; 
but  I  did  not  see  it  so  clearly  then  as  I  did  afterwards. 

After  the  close  of  the  services  on  Juh'  1 1  one  of  the  elders 


IN    THE    HOME    MISSION    FIELD.  445 

read  a  public  notice:  "That  as  Mr.  Johnston  has  notified 
the  elders  that  he  has  forwarded  his  resignation  to  the  Board 
of  Missions,  there  will  be  a  meeting  of  the  congregation 
to-morrow  at  5  to  take  necessary  action  to  secure  preaching 
or  Gospel  ordinances." 

"Monday,  12.  At  the  congregational  meeting,  as  I  have 
been  informed,  nothing  of  consequence  was  done.  The 
people  had  been  told  by  a  leading  elder  that  the  meeting  was 
called  mostly  to  please  me,  and  that  there  was  nothing 
specially  to  be  done.  Hence  few  came  out;  and  as  that  elder 
proposed  nothing,  nothing  was  done."     (Diar}'.) 

On  Wednesday  of  the  next  week  there  was  a  meeting  of 
the  congregation.  None  of  our  family  were  present.  The 
record  in  my  diary  reads  thus:  "As  far  as  I  could  learn  its 
object  it  was  to  see  what  could  be  done  to  secure  me  as  pastor. 
A  vote,  by  ballot,  was  finally  taken  to  see  how  many  are  in 
favor  of  calling  me.  All  voted  in  favor  of  it  except  two  (so 
I  am  informed).  And  two  of  the  elders  were  in.structed  to 
write  to  the  Board  to  .see  if  the}^  could  promise  a  supplement 
to  the  call  provided  the  congregation  would  call  me.  Had 
action  of  this  kind  been  taken  months  ago,  or  before  I  sent 
my  resignation  to  the  Board  and  notified  the  elders  of  the 
same,  I  might  have  been  induced  to  remain,  at  least  until  I 
would  see  the  result.     But  I  fear  now  that  it  is  too  late." 

Prior  to  this  congregational  meeting  I  did  not  know  for 
what  object  it  had  been  called.  But  in  my  own  mind  a 
decision  had  been  made.  I  did  not  know  it  then  but  now  I 
hope  we  w^ere  following  the  voice  of  Him  whom  it  is  always 
safe  to  follow.  E'xpecting  that  we  would  be  there  onlj'  a 
few  weeks  more,  I  was  anxious  to  use  the  time  to  the  best 
possible  advantage  for  the  utterance  of  truths  that  the  people 
needed.  Among  other  things  I  remembered  that  some  of 
the  men  of  the  church  were  too  fond  of  "an  occasional  glass" 
of  .strong  drink,  and  so  I  preached  a  temperance  sermon  on 


444  tOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

the  Golden  Text  of  that  day's  International  Sabbath-school 
Lesson,  viz.  John  2:11.  "This  beginning  of  miracles,"  etc. 
The  sermon  was  needed,  for  only  a  few  members  of  the  con- 
gregation were  zealous  and  active  workers  in  the  cause  of 
temperance,  while  some  did  not  believe  at  all  in  total  absti- 
nence. And  though  I  had  taught  the  duty  often,  and 
always  as  kindly  as  I  could,  I  feared  that  I  had  effected 
little  change  in  their  minds.  This  condition  of  the  congre- 
gation on  the  subject  of  abstinence  I  now  believe  was  partly 
owing  to  the  practise  of  their  late  pastor  who,  notwithstand- 
ing his  great  excellence  as  a  man  and  Christian  minister, 
was  induced  by  his  physician  to  use  whisky  freel}'  as  a  tonic. 
The  people  of  the  church  and  of  the  world  around,  too,  must 
have  known  this.  The  influence  of  a  good  man's  example  is 
immeasurable.  What  Elliota  is  now  I  do  not  know,  but 
the  probability  is  that  the  evil  influence  of  that  beloved  pas- 
tor's example  did  not  cease  with  his  burial  but  may  have 
continued  all  through  that  generation.  And  who  can  know 
how  great  is  the  influence  for  evil  of  that  physician  who  pre- 
scribes for  his  patients  alcoholic  poisons  or  intoxicating 
drinks  of  any  kind  ?  The  only  physician  in  Elliota  was  an 
allopath  and  a  drunkard  who  habitually  prescribed  wine  and 
liquors  to  his  patients.  Is  it  not  strange  that  any  Christian 
man  or  woman  would  implicitly  submit  to  this  practise 
or  follow  his  advice?  By  what  law  of  right  do  Christians 
patronize  such  a  doctor  at  all  ?  And  probably  the  cause  of 
temperance  can  never  be  victorious  in  any  land  so  loiig  as 
alcoholic  medication  continues.  But  whatever  others  may 
do  or  not  do,  members  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
should  not  only  be  total  abstainers  but  non-employers  of 
doctors  who  poison  their  patients  with  what  not  only  tends 
to  generate  a  love  of  strong  drink  but  can  neither  remove 
disease  nor  cure  the  sick. 

According  to  previous  annouucemeut,  on  Sabbath  August 


IN    THE    HOMP:    MIvSSION    FIELD.  445 

15  I  preached  my  farewell  sermon.  The  text  has  been  used 
no  doubt  by  many  a  pastor  when  about  to  leave  his  charge, 
viz.,  "Finally,  brethren,  farewell.  Be  perfect;  be  of  one 
mind,"  etc.  The di.scussion  was  textual:  The  Exhortation, 
the  Reward,  and  the  Valedictory.  The  record  made  soon 
afterwards  reads  as  follows:  "The  attendance  was  very  large; 
the  house  was  fuller  than  ever  I  saw  it  before  on  the  Sabbath, 
full  to  its  entire  capacity.  The  people,  both  of  the  church 
and  others,  were  very  attentive,  and  many  of  the  friends  in 
tears. 

"With  reluctance  and  fears,  as  well  as  with  the  severance 
of  strong  ties,  I  go  from  this  people  to  many  of  whom  I  have 
become  very  warmly  attached.  Why  I  was  sent,  what  work 
has  been  accomplished  by  my  instrumentality,  what  is  their 
future,  whether  I  am  ever  to  preach  again,  and  what  God 
has  in  reserve  for  me,  whether  tears  in  affliction  or  joy  in 
his  favor,  he  only  knows.  I  go  trying  to  commit  this  dear 
people,  as  well  as  myself  and  family,  to  the  guidance  and 
care  of  my  God  and  Saviour.  Let  him  do  with  me  as  seem- 
eth  good  in  his  sight;  only  grant  to  my  dear  wife  and  children 
thy  salvation  and  thy  paternal  love  and  care  and  blessing, 
O  my  Father,  and  I  am  satisfied  in  the  hope  of  joy  and  rest 
at  thy  right  hand."    (Diary.) 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

Missionary  Work  among  thk  Chinksh  in  California. 

After  many  farewells  on  Monday,  earh'  Tuesday  morning 
Ave  were  oif  for  our  long  journey  to  the  Pacific.  Turning 
aside  a  little  we  spent  some  days  with  our  family  friends  in 
Iowa  and  thence  passed  on,  partly  by  rail  and  partly  by 
steamboat,  to  Clinton  on  the  Missi.ssippi.  Here  we  stopped 
two  nights  and  one  day,  the  Sabbath,  resting  "according  to 
the  commandment."  On  Monda}'  we  bought  our  tickets 
through  to  San  Francisco.  In  those  days  the  rates  were  so 
high  that  four  through  tickets  pretty  nearly  depleted  a  poor 
man's  pocket;  and  at  that  time  it  required  the  most  of  six 
days  to  go  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific.  For  this 
reason  we  had  gone  to  Clinton  on  Saturday  so  that  we  could 
begin  our  overland  travel  on  Monday.  We  had  a  prosperous 
journey  and  reached  Oakland,  Cal.,  on  time,  late  Saturday 
afternoon,  August  27,  1875. 

At  that  time  the  "overland"  travel  to  California  meant 
more  than  it  does  now.  To  us  it  was  all  novel  and  strange. 
The  long  journey  across  the  Rockies,  the  plains,  and  the 
Sierra  Nevadas,  was  full  of  incidents  and  wonderful  sights 
not  to  be  forgotten.  Our  going  to  the  Pacific  Coast  was  not 
as  tourists.  Our  e5^es  were  always  open  to  see  the  beauty  of 
the  valleys,  the  grandeur  of  the  mountains,  or  the  desolation 
of  the  plains,  but  our  deeper  thoughts  were  away  forward, 
and  we  prayed  God  to  open  before  us  a  door  of  access  to 
needy  souls. 

On  our  arrival  at  Oakland  we  were  met  at  the  railroad 

(446) 


WORK    AMONG   THK   CHINESE.  447 

Station  by  our  friend,  Mr.  White,  who  conveyed  us  to  his 
residence.  I  had  not  seen  him  after  his  return  from  the  war. 
He  had  been  in  California  several  years  and  that  meant 
exposure  to  temptations  to  leave  the  Covenanter  Church. 
He  had  married  a  Baptist  wife,  the  daughter  of  a  Baptist 
minister.  She  would  not  become  a  Covenanter  and  he  would 
not  be  a  Baptist;  and  so  they  agreed  to  compromise  and  to 
attend  the  Congregational  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  McLean  pastor. 
They  held  a  pew  but  had  not  united  with  the  church.  We 
lodged  with  our  friends  a  few  days  until  our  goods  came  and 
we  found  a  little  cottage  in  which  to  reside.  On  Monday  I 
went  into  Mr.  White's  newspaper  office,  surveyed  the  situa- 
tion, and  began  my  work.  It  consisted  principally  in  read- 
ing, selecting  and  clipping  articles  from  magazines  and 
journals,  mostly  eastern,  with  which  to  fill  the  pages  printed 
for  country  papers  or  journals  in  remote  cities  all  over  the 
coast.  Thus  I  was  called  the  "scissors  editor."  I  had  to 
read  everything  before  clipping  it  for  use,  for  the  same  matter 
was  set  up  for  forty  or  fifty  different  papers  whether  Repub- 
lican, or  Democrat,  or  Independent,  or  reformatory.  Then 
for  most  of  the  papers  I  had  to  "write  up"  news  columns 
filled  with  condensed  articles  giving  intelligence  from  abroad 
and  from  the  east.  For  a  few  papers  editorials  were  prepared, 
no  two  the  same,  however;  and  these  could  not  be  partisan. 
One  paper  was  edited  entirel\-  in  the  office  and  for  the  matter 
of  this  I  was  responsible  only  in  part.  In  addition  to  these 
duties  it  devolved  upon  me  to  keep  the  books  of  the  estab- 
lishment. This  part  of  the  work  was  light  except  at  the 
end  of  each  month  when  long  bills  had  to  be  made  out  and 
mailed  to  the  publishers  all  over  the  coast.  The  office  hours 
were  from  nine  to  three  or  four,  or  optional  provided  no 
work  was  left  undone.  As  our  residence  was  in  Oakland  I 
had  to  cross  the  San  Francisco  Bay,  to  and  fro,  daily.  From 
pier  to  pier  it  v^as  about  four  miles.     On  each  side  of  the 


448      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

bay  I  had  a  long  walk  b}^  which  health  was  promoted;  and 
when  on  the  water  I  had  time  for  reading.  "Snatch  the 
moments;  let  no  time  be  lost." 

For  my  "scissors  editor's"  work  Mr.  White  paid  me  good 
wages  as  upon  me,  his  friend,  he  laid  many  responsibilities 
which  he  could  not  have  trusted  to  others.  But  m\-  agree- 
ment with  him  was  only  provisional  and  temporary.  This 
appears  from  a  record  in  my  diarj'  written  the  evening  after 
my  first  day  in  the  printing  office.  It  reads  thus:  "Here  I 
expect  to  remain  until  we  succeed  in  establishing  a  mission 
among  the  Chinese.  This  is  my  great  object  in  coming  to 
California.  What  God  has  in  reserve  for  me — what  work 
he  intends  to  give  me  and  my  family  to  do,  I  can  only  hope 
and  wait  to  see.  I  always  had  a  great  desire  to  be  a  foreign 
missionary.  Here  I  hope  to  be  permitted  to  labor  for  the 
conversion  of  heathen  idolaters  in  our  own  land."  As  soon 
as  we  were  "fixed  up"  in  our  rented  cottage  we  began  to 
make  explorations  and  to  get  all  needed  information  neces- 
sar}'  to  the  opening  of  the  contemplated  mission.  We 
visited  the  Chinese  Sabbath-schools  in  Oakland  where  there 
were  two;  and  the  Chinese  missions  in  San  Francisco  where 
there  were  five,  though  only  two  were  fully  equipped  and 
owned  mission  buildings;  these  were  the  Presb^-terian  and 
the  Methodist,  the  former  being  under  the  superintendence 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Loomis  and  the  latter  under  that  of  Rev.  Dr.  Otis 
Gibson. 

Meanwhile  we  went  in  search  of  stray  Covenanters.  There 
were  several  in  San  Francisco  who  had  been  members  in  the 
eastern  cities  but  had  gone  into  other  churches  here,  notably 
the  United  Presbyterian,  Rev.  M.  M.  Gibson,  pastor.  One 
of  them  was  a  brother  of  Rev.  William  Graham  of  Boston. 
Subsequently  he  went  into  the  Presbyterian  Church.  In 
Oakland  we  found  only  one  Reformed  Presbyterian  family, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kkey,  and  her  brother,  Mr.  James  McCullough, 


WORK    AMONG    THE    CHINESE.  449 

brother  of  Elder  McCullough  of  Lisbon,  New  York.  With 
these  we  held  prayer-meetings  on  Sabbaths  for  several 
months,  or  until  I  began  to  preach  in  our  own  Chinese 
mission  chapel.  During  the  first  two  or  three  months  after 
going  to  Oakland  we  formed  the  acquaintance  of  several 
Chinese  converts,  Presb^^terians  and  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian Chinese  Sabbath-school,  whom  we  informed  of  our 
intention  to  open  a  mission  night  school  and  Sabbath-school 
also.  As  there  had  been  no  such  missson  or  school  for 
teaching  the  English  language  to  the  Chinese,  our  friends 
were  greatly  pleased  and  offered  to  give  us  all  needed  assist- 
ance. We  procured  at  a  fair  rent  a  room  partly  furnished 
and  used  on  the  Sabbath  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  as  a  kind  of 
mission  chapel.  The  word  soon  went  abroad  that  we  had 
opened  the  school,  and  in  a  week  or  so  the  seats  were  filled 
with  Chinese  men  and  boys  eager  to  learn  the  English 
language.  Probably  about  the  half  of  them  had  alreadj^^ 
learned  to  read  a  little.  The  teachers  were  the  four  members 
of  our  family.  Our  hands  were  full.  We  began  at  the  gas- 
lighting  and  continued  until  half  past  nine  o'clock.  As  we 
were  often  crowded  and  needed  more  teachers,  one  or  two  of 
the  best  readers  gave  us  the  needed  help.  One  of  these 
volunteer  teachers  was  Huie  Kin,  afterwards  a  student  in 
Geneva  College,  now  a  missionary  in  New  York.  As  eight 
or  ten  of  the  scholars  had  been  taught  elsewhere  and  could 
read  English  sufficiently  to  use  the  New  Testament  as  a  text- 
book, I  organized  these  into  a  Bible-reading  class,  having 
two  objects  in  view,  to  teach  the  language  and  to  teach  Bible 
facts  and  truths.  This  class  was  heard  after  I  had  spent  an 
hour  or  so  among  the  hitherto  untaught. 

The  evening  school  sessions  were  opened  by  prayer  and 

singing  portions  of  psalms  printed  on  canvas  and  hung  up 

before  all.    We  closed  by  a  brief  talk  on  whatever  w'e  thought 

most  needed  by  the  heathen,  and   then  by  either  pra3'er  or 

29 


450      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

singing  or  both.  After  some  of  them  had  learned  the 
Lord's  prayer  it  was  recited  in  concert  either  in  Chinese  or 
in  EngHsh.  From  the  first  there  were  a  few  of  the  scholars 
who  had  learned  to  speak  English  so  well  that  I  had  little 
difficulty  in  finding  an  interpreter.  Several  who  came  to 
the  night  school  for  lessons  in  English  were  baptized  converts 
and  were  always  glad  to  interpret  when  I  spoke  to  the  whole 
school.  After  a  while  I  employed  an  interpreter  and  as.si.st- 
ant  teacher  and  helper. 

After  we  had  thus  entered  fairly  upon  our  work  I  reported 
to  the  Home  Board  of  Missions  in  Allegheny  what  progress 
we  had  made  and  what  we  intended  to  do,  and  about  the 
same  time  I  issued  an  appeal  to  the  friends  of  missions  in 
the  church  asking  for  contributions  to  meet  the  expenses  of 
the  new  mission  which  we  had  undertaken  without  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Board.  These  expenses  were  furniture, 
monthl}^  rent,  and  incidentals.  Erelong  we  had  as  much 
or  more  than  was  needed. 

During  these  months  I  went  occasionally  on  Sabbath 
afternoons  to  the  East  Oakland  Jute  Mills  where  there  were 
five  or  six  hundred  Chinese  employees,  nearh^  all  pagan 
idolaters,  to  whom  through  a  Christian  interpreter  I  tried  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  Afterwards  others  who  could  preach  in 
Chinese  visited  the  mills  and  preached.  Soon  quite  a  large 
number  of  the  emploj'ees  came  to  our  new  mission. 

After  we  had  been  several  months  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  but  which  we  could  not  have  for  use  on  the 
Sabbath  except  at  night,  we  opened  the  school  in  another 
part  of  the  city,  furnished  the  hall  nicely,  and  began  work 
on  the  Sabbath.  This  building,  prepared  for  the  mission, 
had  a  small  hall  in  front,  two  class-rooms  back  of  the  hall, 
and  in  the  rear  a  room  for  the  janitor.  We  had  found  in 
Oakland  several  families  of  United  Presbyterians  one  being 
Rev.  David  Morrow,  witliout  charge.     They  had  no  preach- 


WORK   AMONG    THE   CHINESE.  45 1 

iiig  unless  they  would  cross  the  bay  to  San  Francisco.  With 
the  change  of  location  I  began  to  preach ,  the  United  Presby . 
terians  and  the  Covenanters  and  quite  a  number  of  the 
Chinese  being  the  hearers.  As  the  jute  mills  were  closed  on 
Sabbath  many  of  the  Chinese  there  came  to  our  Sabbath 
meetings  both  day  and  night.  We  now  began  to  employ  an 
interpreter  and  assistant  teacher.  He  had  been  baptized 
several  years  ago  by  Rev.  Dr.  Otis  Gibson,  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Methodist  Mission.  The  attendance  was  so  large  that 
I  had  to  take  my  large  class  of  young  men,  now  tolerably 
good  readers,  across  the  street  to  our  private  residence.  In 
this  way  I  could  teach  them  in  quietness.  At  this  point  I 
find  in  my  journal  the  following  record  of  Sabbath  work: 
"The  hall  of  our  mission  house  we  use  for  preaching  and 
Bible  class.  Our  Chinese  Sabbath-school  meets  at  9  o'clock. 
At  1 1  I  preach  to  a  small  congregation  of  Covenanters 
and  united  Presbyterians,  with  a  few  Chinese  who  remain 
after  the  Sabbath-school.  Then,  after  public  worship  I  hear 
the  class  (of  whites)  in  the  International  Bible  Lesson. 
Then  Chinese  Sabbath-school  again  at  7  in  the  evening. 
Thus  our  Sabbaths  are  days  of  much  labor.  But  the 
laborers  have  their  reward."  Among  the  first  sermons 
preached  were  several  from  the  different  parts,  taken  one  by 
one,  of  Matt.  28  :  18,  19,  20.  I  never  can  tell  with  what 
mingled  delight  and  sadness  I  preached  to  the  Chinese  most 
of  whom  were  almost  as  great  strangers  to  the  way  of 
salvation  as  before  they  had  left  their  homes  in  China.  I 
rejoiced  that  I  had  opportunity  to  offer  salvation  to  so  many 
heathen;  I  was  sad  because  I  could  not  preach  this  Gospel 
to  Ihem  in  their  own  language. 

As  the  months  passed  we  all  were  busy  day  and  night. 
As  our  family  expenses  were  heavy — it  then  cost  much 
more  to  live  in  California  than  it  does  now — and  as  the 
furnishing   of  the   mission    rooms,  and    the    rent,  and    the 


452  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK    SUNSET    LAND. 

salary  of  the  helper,  all  made  our  bill  of  monthly  expenses 
so  large  that  we  could  not  pay  them  unless  more  money 
would  come  to  us  from  eastern  friends,  my  wife,  alwa^^s 
ready  for  work,  accepted  an  honorable  position  as  teacher  in 
the  Oakland  public  schools.  It  came  about  thus:  The 
city  superintendent  of  schools  was  a  graduate  of  the  New 
York  Cit}^  Normal  School,  and  her  classmate.  By  his  kind- 
ness a  vacant  position  was  offered  to  her.  This  lessened 
our  anxiety  about  funds  needed  to  carry  on  our  work.  Our 
daughters  were  in  the  city  high  school;  and  being  teachers 
every  night  in  the  mission  school  they  had  no  time  for  play 
or  worldly  amusements  or  social  pleasures.  They  never 
complained  of  too  much  work.  They  loved  home  and 
home  duties.  They  loved  their  studies;  and  they  shared 
with  their  father  and  mother  their  interest  in  the  benevolent 
mission  work  in  which  we  were  engaged.  Thej^  had  and 
have  their  reward.  It  always  was  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive. 

In  May,  1877,  Mr.  John  Rice,  from  Elliota,  Minn.,  came 
to  Oakland.  They  came  in  .search 'of  a  farm,  either  in  this 
state  or  in  Oregon.  After  lingering  awhile  they  changed 
their  plans  and  remained  in  Oakland.  About  that  time  the 
United  Presbj'terians  endeavored  to  open  a  mission  in  the 
city,  Rev.  Mr.  Niblock  being  the  preacher.  They  hired  a 
hall  for  the  preaching,  and  those  who  had  attended  our  Cov- 
enanter services  at  the  Chinese  mission  followed  the  United 
Presbyterian  preacher.  They  were  disappointed.  Some 
of  their  people  moved  to  southern  California  and  their 
mission  was  abandoned.  Thus,  except  Rev.  Mr.  Morrow 
and  family,  the  Covenanters  were  left  alone.  After  a  while 
we  were  glad  to  welcome  to  our  little  company  a  young  man 
from  New  York,  Mr.  Moore,  a  member  of  the  fourth  con- 
gregation there.  He  attended  our  Sabbath  services  and 
prayer-meetings  and  we  greatly  enjoyed  his  fellowship. 


WORK    AMONG   THE   CHINESE.  453 

About  this  time  the  an ti- Chinese  excitement  was  rapidly 
growing  under  the  influence  of  "the  sand-lot  orator, "  Den- 
nis Kearney,  an  Irish  Catholic,  whose  war  cry  was,  "The 
Chinese  must  go."  Under  his  leadership  the  agitation 
became  so  intense  and  the  hatred  of  the  foreigners  who  did 
not  drink  whisky  and  who  would  work  for  low  wages 
rather  than  be  idle  became  so  bitter  and  cruel  that  it  was 
hardly  safe  for  Chinamen  to  appear  on  the  street  alone. 
They  were  subjected  to  all  kinds  of  abuse  and  wrongs. 
Those  who  came  to  our  mission  night  school  were  afraid  to 
come  except  in  groups.  They  knew  who  were  their  friends 
and  often  came  to  us  for  help  in  trouble.  Sometimes  the 
hoodlums  would  gather  before  the  mission  and  annoy  the 
scholars  going  in  or  coming  out  as  much  as  possible,  and 
some  were  seriously  injured.  When  we  appealed  to  the 
police  for  redress  the  ofl&cer  was  more  in  sympathy  with  the 
hoodlums  than  with  the  missionaries.  Most  of  our  neigh- 
bors also  were  anti-Chinese.  Some  of  them  thought  they 
had  an  opportunity  to  show  it.  In  the  progress  of  our  work 
we  found  it  necessary  to  have  a  kind  of  home  or  lodging- 
hou.se  for  the  homeless  Chine.se  who  belonged  to  the  mis- 
sion; it  was  needed  especially  when  they  were  out  of  em- 
ployment. We  secured  a  lot  adjacent  to  our  own  residence 
and  not  far  from  the  mission  house  and  made  arrangements 
to  put  up  a  small  and  cheap  building  for  this  purpo.se.  The 
men  who  owned  property  and  lived  on  the  same  block  pro- 
fessed to  be  alarmed  lest  this  would  depreciate  the  value  of 
their  real  estate,  and  they  determined  to  prevent  the  erection 
of  the  building  if  possible.  One  evening  when  I  was  in  the 
mission  busy  at  routine  work  a  rap  was  heard  on  the  door. 
On  opening  it  I  saw  quite  a  number  of  men,  our  neighbors, 
probably  seven  or  eight,  whose  spokesman  said  they  wished 
to  have  a  conference  with  me.  I  invited  them  over  to  our 
residence   and   seated   them   in   our  parlor.  •    Through  the 


454  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

spokesman  they  said:  "We  have  come,  Mr.  Johnston,  to 
remonstrate  against  your  building  that  house  on  the  next 
lot  as  we  have  been  told  it  is  to  be  for  the  Chinese.  We  do 
not  want  them  in  this  neighborhood.  Your  mission  is 
alread)^  doing  harm;  and  if  you  build  a  home  for  their  occu- 
pancy it  will  be  against  our  interests.  People  do  not  want 
to  live  near  Chinese;  and  we  do  not.  If  the}'  occupy  that 
house  it  will  depreciate  the  value  of  property  in  this  neigh- 
borhood, and  we  object  to  your  going  on  with  the  work;" 
or  words  to  that  effect.  I  replied:  "Gentlemen,  I  wish  to 
be  a  good  neighbor,  but  I  think  you  wrongfully  object  to 
my  doing  only  what  is  right.  You  do  not  know  that  an}' 
harm  will  follow  the  building  of  the  house.  We  intend  it 
only  for  a  lodging  or  temporary  home  for  such  Chinese 
Christians  as  may  be  out  of  employment  or  who  may  be  sick. 
They  are  orderly  and  peaceable  and  quiet,  and  they  will  harm 
no  one.  Our  object  is  only  benevolent.  We  have  no  pecun- 
iary interest  in  it.  If  any  propert}'  on  the  block  would 
suffer  depreciation  it  would  be  ours,  the  nearest.  But  such 
a  consideration  should  have  no  weight  in  view  of  the  need 
of  the  hou.se  and  the  kindness  we  wish  to  show  to  the  poor 
strangers  in  our  midst  and  who  need  our  protection  as  well 
as  our  help.  Such  is  the  Spirit  of  the  religion  of  Him  to 
whom  we  are  trjnng  to  bring  the  people  for  who.se  salvation 
we  are  laboring,"  or  words  to  this  effect. 

Several  of  the  committee  or  self-appointed  delegation 
replied,  and  I  rejoined.  They  were,  more  mandatory  rather 
than  less,  and  some  one  said  that  I  could  have  no  assurance 
that  the  house  would  not  be  burned  down  if  I  persisted  in 
erecting  it.  They  continued  the  talk  until  Mrs.  Johnston 
came  in,  when  I  said,  "Gentlemen,  here  is  Mrs.  Johnston; 
please  state  your  case  to  her  and  I  guess  I  will  abide  by  her 
decision."  Some  one  did  so.  After  some  preliminary  words 
Mrs.  Johnston  said:   '  'We  have  begun  to  do  what  we  thought 


\VORK    AMONG    THE    CHINESE.  455 

we  should.  I  see  no  good  reason  for  changing  our  plans. 
I  guess  we  will  go  on  and  build  the  house  at  any  rate;  and 
then  decide  for  what  it  shall  be  used."  Whereupon  the 
delegation  arose  and  bade  us  good-night.  The  spokesman 
was  a  "squire" — no  friend  to  religion — and  a  Republican 
politician.  The  next  most  active  in  the  movement  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
In  the  evening  paper  of  a  day  or  two  afterwards  this  Method- 
ist brother  came  out  in  a  malicious  attack  against  both  of 
us  and  against  the  toleration  of  the  mission  and  missionaries 
because  we  were  bringing  the  Chinese  into  that  neighbor- 
hood. He  also  informed  the  people  that  Mrs.  Johnston  was 
a  public  school-teacher  and  that  no  woman  who  was  favor- 
ing the  influx  of  the  Chinese  should  be  tolerated  in  the 
schools.  In  the  next  evening's  paper  I  replied  to  his  rabid 
article  and  tried  to  show  to  the  public  that  we  were  not 
only  doing  nothing  inimical  to  the  public  interests  but  also 
nothing  except  what  we  had  a  right  to  do. 

The  anti-Chinese  agitation  resulted,  as  every  historian 
knows,  in  Federal  anti-Chinese  legislation  in  violation  of 
national  treaty;  and  this  again  by  infamous  California  laws. 
The  next  Congressional  restriction  laws  were  still  more 
restrictive  and  cruel  as  well  as  unjust.  The  causes  which 
led  to  this  anti-Chinese  feeling  and  legislation  were  several 
but  specially  two,  viz.,  caste  prejudice,  second  the  unwilling- 
ness of  the  laboring  classes  to  permit  foreigners  of  another 
race  to  introduce  cheap  labor,  or  cut  down  their  wages 
which  had  always  been  very  much  higher  than  in  the  east- 
ern states.  Then  the  question  got  into  politics  and  the  men 
who  were  anxious  for  office -took  advantage  of  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  Chinese  and  hoped  to  ride  into  office  by  shouting, 
"The  Chinese  must  go."  The  reader  may  remember  how 
many  riots  and  massacres  occurred  and  from  how  many 
places  on  the  Pacific  Coast  the  Chinese  were  driven  out.     In 


456  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

many  ways  these  things  seriously  aflfected  mission  work. 
The  Chinese  exclusion  acts  diminished  the  number  of  im- 
migrants. To  avoid  persecution  by  the  disciples  of  Dennis 
Kearney  (who  as  to  the  anti-Chinese  sentiment  were  in  the 
majority),  many  of  the  Chinese  left  California  and  went  to 
the  eastern  and  southern  cities;  and  not  a  few  went  back  to 
their  native  land. 

During  all  these  years  of  agitation  and  the  triumph  of 
iniquity  and  of  wrong  done  to  the  poor  strangers  in  our 
midst,  three  things  occurred:  i.  The  missions  in  San  Fran- 
cisco and  ours  in  Oakland  did  not  abate  their  efforts  for  a 
moment  but  went  "right  on"  as  before.  2.  In  the  public 
journals  here  and  in  the  east,  e.  g.  in  the  Philadelphia 
Christian  Statesman,  the  Oakland  Covenanter  missionary, 
and  almost  no  other,  used  his  pen  in  testimony  against  the 
wrongs  done  to  the  Chinese  and  against  the  injustice  and 
iniquity  of  the  Congressional  and  state  restriction  laws. 
Even  some  Covenanter  ministers  wrote  in  apology  for  these 
laws.  3.  All  the  while  the  work  went  on  and  conversions 
occurred  from  time  to  time. 

The  first  baptism  of  converts  in  our  mission  was  on 
Sabbath,  June  23,  1878,  or  about  two  and  a  half  years  after 
we  first  opened  the  mission.  There  were  three  in  number. 
I  should  have  said  sooner  that  some  time  before  this  the 
Board  of  Missions  had  recognized  our  mission  and  author- 
ized us  to  receive  and  use  the  church's  contributions  for  the 
work.  .  They  promised  us  no  salary,  however,  nor  did  we 
ask  it.  The  moneys  received  met  all  the  expenses  of  the 
mission,  furniture,  rents,  teachers  and  helpers.  We  were 
working  with  our  own  hands  and  asked  no  reward  for  mis- 
sion work  except  the  favor  of  the  Board  and  the  prayers  of 
the  church.  Moreover,  I  had  consulted  with  some  members 
of  the  Board  and  other  ministers  as  to  the  right  and  propriety 
of  our  baptizing  converts,  all  of  whom  assured  me  that  I 


WORK    AMONG   THE    CHINESE;.  457 

should  not  hesitate  to  baptize  those  whom  I  believed  to  be 
genuine  converts.  At  this  time  there  was  no  organized 
congregation  or  session  to  admit  applicants  to  baptism.  In 
my  journal  of  that  date  1  find  this  record:  "During  these 
last  mouths  we  had  a  Chinese  prayer-meeting  which  has 
been  attended  by  those  scholars  that  have  been  inclined  to 
become  Christians.  Within  a  few  weeks  three  of  our  schol- 
ars have  asked  baptism.  I  have  met  with  them  frequently 
for  prayer  and  instruction,  and  more  recently  for  examina- 
tion. Having  found  these  sufficiently  intelligent  and  giving 
sufficient  evidence  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  of  repentance 
for  sin,  I  have  admitted  them  to  baptism." 

The  next  baptisms  were  on  Sabbath,  December  15,  1878, 
when  two  more  made  a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ.  And 
then  four  weeks  afterwards  four  more  were  admitted  to  bap- 
tism. In  all  these  cases  the  candidates  were  instructed  and 
examined  through  an  interpreter  and  alone,  prayed  with 
several  times,  and  all  possible  means  used  to  be  assured,  if 
possible,  of  the  genuineness  of  their  conversion.  That  in 
some  cases  we  were  deceived  is  quite  probable. 

After  having  consulted  by  letter  with  the  ministerial  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  Missions  I  resolved  to  administer  the 
sacrament  of  the  supper  to  those  nine  converts  and  to  the 
few  American  Covenanters  then  in  Oakland  and  known  to 
be  in  good  standing.  Accordingly,  after  the  customary 
preparatory  days  and  services,  on  the  second  Sabbath  of 
January.  1879,  nineteen  disciples  of  Christ  sat  down  at  his 
table  together  to  commemorate  his  death.  Of  the  nineteen, 
ten  were  Chinese  converts.  At  that  communion  I  had  no 
assistance;  none  could  have  been  had  unless  he  had  come 
from  Kansas  or  farther  east.  Yet  I  thought  we  enjoyed  the 
presence  of  the  Master.  There  were  no  elders.  In  receiving 
the  converts  to  baptism  I  had  acted  alone.  Necessity 
knows  no  law.     In  receiving  them  to  the  communion  table 


45^  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

I  acted  alone;  necessity  required  it.  But  it  was  what  mis- 
sionaries in  foreign  lands  do.  And  I  followed  the  advice  of 
Presbyterian  Chinese  missionaries  here.  They  all  said : 
You  should  not  hesitate.  Others  agreed.  The  deacon  from 
Minnesota,  Mr.  Rice,  officiated  in  the  handling  of  the  bread 
and  wine.  To  the  Chinese  converts  it  was  a  solemn  as  well 
as  strange  service.  To  us  all  it  was  a  season  of  joy.  On 
Monday  after  the  communion  this  was  Written  in  my  journal: 
"Thus,  in  our  Chinese  Mission,  not  yet  organized  into  a 
congregation,  we  have  held  the  first  Covenanter  communion 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  I  think  we  enjoyed  the 
presence  of  the  Master  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  I  praise 
God  that  I  and  my  family  have  been  permitted  once  more  to 
enjoy  the  New  Testament  feast.  'We  will  remember  thy 
love  more  than  wine.'  " 

At  the  Synod  of  this  year,  1879,  the  Oakland  missionary 
was  instructed  "to  gather  together  any  known  elders  in 
California  and  to  organize  a  congregation."  I  opened  a 
correspondence  with  Elders  Mitchell  and  McCloy  of  Santa 
Ana,  Cal.,  who  promised  to  come  to  assist  in  the  organiza- 
tion. It  was  arranged  to  organize  about  the  last  of  August 
and  to  hold  a  communion  afterwards. 

On  Friday  we  met  for  fast  day  services.  Elders  McClo)'  and 
Mitchell  being  present.  After  worship  a  session  was  con- 
stituted, certificates  were  received  and  two  applicants  were 
examined  and  admitted  to  church-membership.  In  the 
evening  after  the  religious  services  the  session  was  consti- 
tuted for  the  organization  of  the  congregation.  'A  roll  of 
membership  was  made  out,  twenty-four  or  twenty-five  in  all. 
Two  elders  were  elected,  viz.  John  Rice  and  Ju  Sing,  and 
one  deacon,  Edwin  Rice.  At  the  same  meeting  they  were 
examined  and  the  examinations  sustained.  On  Saturday 
after  the  sermon  the  elders  elect  were  ordained  and  installed. 
(The  deacon  declined  to  serve.)     The  addre.s.ses  to  both  con- 


WORK    AMONG    THE    CHINESE.  459 

gregation  and  elders  were  given  by  the  moderator.  As  a 
part  of  tiie  services  preparatory  to  the  communion  I  read  the 
covenant  of  187 1.  In  every  congregation  on  the  Saturday 
before  a  communion  the  pastor  would  do  well  to  read  the 
covenant.  I  know  of  no  better  service  before  a  Covenanter 
sacramental  feast. 

On  Sabbath,  August  31,  after  the  action  sermon  I  bap- 
tized two  young  Chinese  converts  who  had  been  received  by 
the  session  the  day  before.  At  that  communion  table  sat 
Chinese  and  Americans,  about  the  same  number  of  each,  all 
one  in  Christ  and  all  in  one  organized  congregation  under 
Christ  the  Head.  Two  of  the  Chinese  members  were  absent. 
Ju  Guy  had  returned  to  China.  It  was  the  first  congrega- 
tion of  the  kind  in  the  whole  history  of  the  church.  It  was 
a  time  Of  joy  and  gladness.  But  a  heavy  burden  both  of 
responsibility  and  labor  rested  upon  me.  I  was  alone  in  all 
the  ministerial  services.  Yet  I  was  mercifully  sustained  and 
found  in  his  great  goodness  abundant  cause  of  gratitude  to 
the  Head  of  the  church.  Only  four  years  had  passed  since 
we  came  to  California.  Not  more  than  three  and  a  half  had 
passed  since  we  had  been  fairly  under  way  in  the  mission; 
and  now  a  Covenanter  congregation  had  been  organized  the 
most  important  half  being  Chinese  only  lately  cut  loose 
from  the  yoke  of  pagan  idolatr}-.  True,  the  beginnings 
were  small  but  we  hoped  that  the  latter  end,  however  far 
distant,  would  greatly  increase. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  following,  the  attendance 
in  the  mission  increased  and  the  interest  manifested  did  not 
abate.  Subsequently  other  converts  were  baptized.  After 
the  organization  these  were  always  examined  and  received 
by  the  session.  Besides  the  regular  weekly  prayer-meetings 
in  the  mission  chapel,  these  being  partly  missionary  meetings 
also,  we  held  Chinese  meetings  in  our  residence  where 
.several  of  the  converts  prayed  in  the  Engli.sh  language. 


460      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

On  the  fourth  anniversary  of  the  starting  of  the  mission 
we  had  a  good  time.  To  incite  and  to  encourage  the  mis- 
sion scholars  to  effort  in  their  night  school  duties,  we  gave 
a  public  entertainment  in  one  of  the  smaller  city  halls.  It 
consisted  mostly  of  Scripture  rehearsals,  declamations,  and 
vocal  music.  One  special  exercise  was  a  kind  of  dialogue 
which  I  wrote  for  the  older  scholars  in  which  they  expressed 
their  sentiments  in  reference  to  the  anti-Chinese  excitement, 
the  Kearneyites,  etc.  They  gave  it  in  such  good  English 
and  with  such  manifest  belief  of  what  they  said,  it  won  great 
applause,  for  the  hall  was  filled  with  the  friends  of  missions 
from  the  several  churches  that  had  Chinese  missions  in  San 
Francisco.  At  our  invitation  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit,  Presby- 
terian missionary,  gave  an  address  to  the  Chinese  in  their 
own  language  and  Rev.  Dr.  Otis  Gibson,  Methodist  Epis- 
copal missionary,  an  address  in  English.-  This  public  exhi- 
bition of  attainments  met  with  such  appreciation  by  those 
present  we  were  urged  to  have  it  repeated  in  a  larger  hall. 
After  enlarging  the  program  and  giving  still  better  drill,  we 
announced  the  entertainment  in  a  large  hall  in  the  center  of 
the  city.  The  attendance  was  larger  and  the  success  other- 
wise greater.  On  neither  evening  did  we  ask  or  take  any 
money  from  any  one,  but  paid  hall  rents  and  all  other  ex- 
penses. On  the  whole  we  thought  the  interests  of  the  mis- 
sion and  our  usefulness  by  means  of  it,  were  advanced. 
Besides,  as  those  public  entertainments  were  novel  and 
attracted  some  public  attention  they  tended  to  silence  the 
anti-Chinese  tongue  of  the  enemies  of  missions,  and  showed 
to  them  that  we  "meant  business." 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 
Yo  Semite  Valley. 

Somebody  once  said:  "See  Yo  Semite  and  then  die." 
Everybody  that  knows  anything  about  it  would  presume 
that  a  tour  to  the  wonderful  valley  would  help  to  prolong  life. 
I  had  a  great  desire  to  visit  it.  A  favorable  time  came.  The 
Cahfornia  State  Sabbath-school  Association  had  appealed  to 
the  Sabbath  schools  all  over  the  state  to  give  contributions 
to  a  fund  to  build  a  chapel  or  small  house  of  worship  in  the 
valley  in  which  the  Gospel  might  be  preached  on  Sabbaths 
during  the  tourists'  season  so  that  all  visitors  spending  the 
Sabbath  there  could  have  a  place  in  which  to  worship  God 
if  desired.  The  fund  had  been  raised;  the  church  was  nearly 
finished;  the  state  Association  resolved  to  hold  its  next  anni- 
versary in  the  valley  and  dedicate  the  chapel;  the  days  of 
the  dedication  were  fixed  and  all  the  arrangements  for  the 
services  arranged;  and  the  railroad  and  stage  companies  sold 
tickets  at  reduced  rates. 

Obtaining  leave  of  absence  from  my  "better  half,"  engag- 
ing extra  teachers  for  the  mission  school,  and  having  the 
promise  of  the  company  of  one  of  our  daughters  whose 
school  vacation  occurred  at  the  time,  I  determined  to  seek 
rest  in  a  tour  to  Yo  Semite.  We  went,  we  saw,  we  heard; 
and  on  our  minds  a  picture  was  made  that  will  remain 
indelible  while  memory  is  on  the  throne.  I  have  made 
some  feeble  attempts  to  reproduce  it.  I  will  not  try  it 
again.  Those  who  may  read  these  pages  have  read  descrip- 
tions of  Yo  Semite  Valley;  some  of  them,  though  probably 

(461) 


462  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSKT    LAND. 

few,  may  have  been  there.  Only  these  can  know  that  not 
the  hundredth  part  has  ever  been  told.  If  the  reader  wishes 
to  see  the  finest  description  of  it  that  I  have  ever  read,  let 
him  read  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard's  in  her  book,  "Glimpses 
of  Fifty  Years."  Few  distant  readers  know  how  far  Yo 
Semite  is  from  the  California  metropolis.  The  facilities  for 
travel  now  are  better  than  then.  It  required  three  da^'s' 
travel;  the  first  by  rail  to  Merced  on  the  Soulhern  Pacific 
Railroad,  thence  by  stage  two  days,  two  thirds  of  the  way 
over  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  and  among  its  immense 
forests.  Our  stage  route  was  over  the  "Old  Coulterville 
Road,"  one  of  only  three  routes  into  the  valley.  It  was  the 
best  as  it  afforded  the  grandest  views  and  passed  through 
the  greatest  forests.  One  of  our  four  fellow- travelers  in  the 
stage  was  Rev.  Dr.  Guard,  an  eminent  Methodist  preacher; 
and  it  was  a  delight  to  be  in  his  company.  As  our  stage- 
driver  had  contracted  to  carry  the  bell  donated  to  the  new 
chapel,  our  travel  over  the  mountains  from  Coulterville  was 
greatly  retarded.  Night  came  upon  us  as  we  drove  up  to 
"Dudley's,"  a  small  but  nice  lodging-house  and  two  or  three 
log-house  cottages  near  together — a  kind  of  half  way  house 
for  tourists,  and  the  only  house  on  the  road  for  probably 
twenty  or  thirt)'^  miles.  Here  we  found  Rev.  Dr.  Willey,  a 
pioneer  Congregational  minister,  who  had  stopped  over  one 
day  for  rest.  He  was  the  chaplain  of  the  Monterey  con- 
vention that  formed  the  first  constitution  of  the  state  of 
California  when  the  great  question  was  pending,  viz., 
whether  California  should  come  into  the  Union  a  free  or  a 
slave  state.  This  same  excellent  man  is  at  this  writing  the 
president  of  our  California  State  Sabbath-school  Association. 
Our  cozy  cottage,  high  up  on  one  of  the  Sierra  Mountains 
and  surrounded  by  such  monstrous  pines  (not  the  big  trees) 
as  are  to  be  found  nowhere  else  on  the  continent,  was  a  good 
place  to  win  the  favor  of  King  Morpheus. 


YO   SEMITE   VALLEY,  463 

Rising  before  the  sun  I  hurried  out  to  behold  a  forest  such 
as  I  had  never  seen  before.  The  cultivated  ground  around 
the  house  was  white  with  frost,  though  it  was  the  7th  of 
June.  Taking  my  ramble  into  the  woods  I  unexpectedly 
came  upon  a  widely  extended  growth  of  mountain  azalias  in 
full  bloom  and  in  their  gayest  attire.  As  I  had  never  seen 
that  species  before  I  did  not  know  what  they  were.  I  had 
often  gathered  wild  flowers  most  beautiful  and  rare  but  these 
were  the  most  beautiful  of  all.  Away  from  human  habita- 
tion, no  sound  disturbing  the  stillness  of  the  mountain  forest 
except  the  song  of  the  birds,  and  the  air  "as  pure  as  the 
breath  of  heaven,"  as  I  beheld  the  unknown  flowers  all 
tinted  with  beauty  by  the  hand  of  Him  who  said,  "Consider 
the  lilies,"  my  soul  was  in  an  ecstasy  of  delight.  "The 
hand  that  made  them  is  divine. ' '  Never  since  have  I  seen 
such  a  profuseness  of  wild  flowers  nor  any  more  beautiful. 
Probably  they  abound  in  the  Sierras  where  no  human  eye 
ever  beholds  them.     For  what  are  they  made  to  grow  there? 

"Full  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." 

But  the  eye  of  Him  who  made  them  delights  in  the  works  of 
His  hand.  Let  me  behold  the  beauty  of  my  Lord  and  be 
permitted  to  walk  with  him  among  the  flowers  of  the  celes- 
tial mountains. 

We  entered  the  valley  at  6  o'clock  Saturday  evening. 
Multitudes  of  friends  of  the  Sabbath-school  had  arrived 
before  us  and  almost  every  place  was  full  of  guests.  With 
difiiculty  we  found  lodgings  at  "Barnard's,"  the  Yo  Semite 
Valley  House.  Here  we  found  Joseph  Cook  and  wife. 
While  there  we  ate  at  the  same  table  with  them  and  this  was 
our  first  acquaintance  with  him.  He  had  responded  to  the 
invitation  to  give  some  of  the  addresses  on  the  occasion. 
Among  the  distinguished  men  who  had  come  to  the  anniver- 
sary were  Rev.  Dr.  Vincent,  now  bishop,  and  John  Muir  the 
eminent  geologist. 


464  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LA.ND. 

The  new  chapel  was  dedicated  on  the  Sabbath.  In  the 
forenoon,  the  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Guard;  the  ded- 
icatory prayer  was  by  Joseph  Co  3k.  In  the  afternoon  Dr. 
\^incent  preached  in  the  open  air.  At  night  Joseph  Cook 
preached  on  the  omnipresence  of  God,  a  sermon  such  as  only 
he  could  preach.  Monday  was  devoted  to  sightseeing.  Such 
was  the  rush  to  get  horses  and  mules  to  ride  up  the  trails  to 
the  peaks  and  outlooks,  I  failed  to  get  them.  Others  had 
pre-engaged  them,  and  we  had  our  choice  to  walk  or  be  disap- 
pointed. Rosie  accepted  my  banter  and  we  started  oflT, 
father  and  daughter,  both  good  walkers,  for  the  Vernal  and 
Nevada  Falls,  six  miles  up  the  Merced  River.  The  first 
two  or  three  miles  are  up  the  level  valley  near  the  stream; 
the  other  miles  are  up  a  steep  trail  from  the  Vernal  Falls  to 
the  Nevada.  Over  each  the  whole  body  of  water  falls  in  one 
unbroken  sheet.  Their  height  I  have  forgotten.  Between 
the  two  falls  the  river  flows  in  one  continued  cascade  parts  of 
which  are  in  fearful  rapidity.  For  beauty  they  can  scarcely 
have  a  rival.  From  Nevada  Falls  the  view  is  among  the 
finest.  Snow's  Hotel,  near  the  falls,  supplied  us  and  other 
tourists  with  a  good  dinner.  After  rambles  to  take  in  new 
sights  we  retraced  our  steps  to  our  hotel  praising  each  other 
for  our  pluck  and  for  our  walk  of  twelve  or  thirteen  miles 
without  much  fatigue;  but  the  father  awarded  the  prize  to 
the  daughter. 

On  Tuesday  it  rained  so  as  to  prevent  any  sight.seeing. 
At  the  assembly  we  heard  Joseph  Cook's  great  sermon  on 
"The  Certainties  of  Religion,"  and  John  Muir's  lectures  on 
the  "Forests  of  California."  On  Wednesday  we  joined  a 
company  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  mostly  members  of 
the  assembly,  in  a  ride  up  the  mountain  trail  to  Glacier 
Point.  This  is  generally  regarded  as  the  finest  point  of  obser- 
vation. Rosie's  nag  was  a  well-trained  little  mare  conscien- 
tiously scrupulous  to  .set  her  foot  ju.st  in  the  right  place. 


VO   SEMITE   VALLEY.  465 

Mine  was  a  sure-footed  donkey  that  treated  me  as  if  he 
beHeved  me  to  be  a  gentleman.  We  parted  friends.  While 
our  company  was  resting  on  Glacier  Point  John  Muir  gave 
us  a  lecture  on  "The  Mountains  of  California."  He  is  a 
Scotchman,  a  scholar,  a  Christian,  and  worthy  of  the  posi- 
tion he  then  held  as  state  geologist.  The  magnificence  of 
the  views  from  Glacier  Point  have  often  been  portrayed.  A 
thousand  times  is  he  rewarded  who  ascends  to  it. 

On  Thursday  my  fleet-footed  daughter  joined  me  in  the 
ascent  of  the  trail  to  the  top  of  Yo  Semite  Falls  two  thou.sand 
six  hundred  and  thirty-four  feet  above  the  valley  into  which 
the  water  of  the  river  descends  almost  all  in  one  perpendicu- 
lar plunge.  On  reaching  the  top  we  fell  in  company  with 
Rev.  Dr.  Trowbridge  and  wife  of  Detroit,  Rev.  Dr.  Willey, 
and  a  young  man,  Mr.  McClintock,  from  Pittsburg.  After 
lunching  here  we  all  continued  up  the  trail  about  two  and 
a  half  miles  farther  on  and  up  to  the  top  of  Eagle's  Rest. 
From  this  point  is  obtained  the  finest  view  of  the  distant 
Sierra  Range  with  its  perpetual  snow-covered  peaks.  The 
elevation,  moreover,  is  greater  than  Glacier  Point,  but  the 
distance  from  the  valley  is  so  much  greater  not  so  many 
tourists  visit  Eagle's  Rest.  The  Yo  Semite  Falls,  the  most 
wonderful  of  all  in  the  valley-  because  of  the  immense  height 
and  extent  of  the  perpendicular  fall,  are  of  a  small  river  that 
empties  into  the  Merced,  the  river  that  runs  through  the 
entire  valley. 

On  our  return  from  Eagle's  Rest  and  comino-  down  through 
the  immense  forest  that  covers  the  whole  .slope  abo\'e  the 
falls,  we  came  upon  a  company  of  United  States  surveyors 
about  to  encamp  for  the  night.  Dr.  Willey  accepted  their 
invitation  to  go  into  camp  with  them  while  Rosie  and'  I 
hurried  down  our  trail.  It  was  dark  when  we  reached  our 
hotel.  We  were  "as  tired  as  tired  can  be"  but  were  more 
than  rewarded  by  what  we  had  .seen  of  the  wonderful  works 
of  God. 

30 


466  LOOKING    BACK     FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

There  is  at  Yo  Semite  a  place  of  observation  called  "Inspi- 
ration Point. ' '  From  it  most  of  the  tourists  who  enter  the 
valley  have  their  first  view,  and  it  bursts  upon  the  beholder 
so  suddenly  and  so  grandly  it  overwhelms  the  soul  with 
emotions  of  awe.     It  is  illustrated  by  an  incident  told  b}^ 

Miss  Willard.     A  Judge ,  of  Sydney,  Ohio,  was  going 

into  the  valley.  When  the  stage-coach  rounded  Inspiration 
Point  and  stopped,  he  rose  to  his  feet,  clasped  his  hands  as 
if  in  prayer,  and  exclaimed:  "Merc)^  mercy!  Havel  lived 
sixty-six  years  that  I  might  see  this  glory!  God  made  it 
all!"  and  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept. 

Almost  any  point  of  observation,  whether  in  the  valley  as 
we  look  upward,  or  on  the  heights  as  we  look  downward,  is 
an  "  Inspiration  Point."  Every  new  view  inspires  the  soul 
of  the  devout  with  a  holy  awe  as  if  in  the  presence  of  an 
Almighty  Power  too  great  to  comprehend.  The  longer  we 
remain  this  inspiration  grows  until  the  lips  are  sealed  in 
silence  for  want  of  words  to  tell  the  emotions  of  the  soul. 
Let  Miss  Willard 's  pen  of  matchless  beauty  try  to  tell  it. 
She  writes:  "Except  beside  the  dying  bed  of  my  beloved  I 
have  never  felt  the  vail  so  thin  between  me  and  the  world 
ineflfable — supernal.  What  was  it  like?  Let  no  pen  less 
loft}^  than  that  of  Milton,  less  attuned  with  nature's  purest 
mood  than  that  of  Wordsworth,  hope  to  'express  unblamed' 
the  awful  and  ethereal  beauty  of  what  we  saw.  'Earth 
with  her  thousand  voices  praises  God,'  sang  the  great  heart 
of  Coleridge  of  the  Vale  of  Chamouni,  but  here,  the  divine 
chorus  includes  both  earth  and  heaven,  for  El  Capitan  rears 
his  head  into  the  sky,  while  Sentinel  and  Cathedral  Rocks 
and  sky-climbing  Cloud's  Rest  round  out  the  full  diapason 
of  earthly  and  of  celestial  praise.  A  holy  awe  rested  upon 
us,  and  tears  were  in  all  eyes.  At  last  the  sacred  silence 
was  broken  by  a  rich  voice,  beloved  b}^  me  for  man}"  a  year, 
as  Mrs.  Dr.  Bentley  led  the  'Gloria  in  Excelsis,'  in  which 


YO   SEMITE   VAI.LEV.  467 

the  jubilant  soprano  harmonized  with  the  melodious  bass  of 
humanity's  united  utterance  of  praise.  'O  come,  let  us 
worship  and  bow  down,  let  us  kneel  before  the  Lord,  our 
Maker,'  these  inspired  words  leaped  to  our  lips,  and  we 
found  thatMn  this  supreme  moment  of  our  experience,  be- 
yond all  poets,  was  the  fitness  of  the  grand  old  words  our 
mothers  taught  us  from  the  Book  of  God:  'The  Lord  is  in 
his  holy  temple,  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  him.' 
"What  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?'  'Stand  in 
awe  and  sin  not.'  " 

On  Friday  morning  we  entered  our  homeward-bound 
coach  returning  by  the  Oak  Flat  road.  This  brings  the 
tourist  through  the  "dead  giant"  in  one  of  the  "big  tree" 
groves.  It  is  the  stump  of  an  old  Sequoia  Gigantea  broken 
off  about  twenty  feet  from  the  ground.  An  opening  is  cut 
out  through  which  a  four-horse  Troy  coach  may  be  driven. 
Our  stage  took  us  through.  The  "giant"  stands '  close 
beside  the  highway.  F^ach  of  the  roads  leading  into  the 
valley  passes  through  a  grove  of  big  trees.  The  Mariposa 
is  said  to  be  the  largest.  Two  of  our  traveling  companions 
were  Dr.  Vincent  and  Dr.  Guard,  both  pleasant,  though  the 
former  showed  himself  to  be  little  in  sympathy  with  the 
smaller  denominations  engaged  in  reform  work.  Unless  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  bishop  has  changed  since  he  put  on  the 
gown,  he  will  not  set  the  world  on  fire  by  any  movement 
more  advanced  than  conservative  Methodism. 

During  our  stay  at  the  Yo  Semite  Hotel  with  Joseph  Cook 
he  was  inquisitive  as  to  the  Chinese  and  our  work  among 
them,  and  he  promised  me  that  if  the  way  w^ere  open  he 
would  lecture  on  the  subject.  The  anti-Chinese  agitation 
w^as  raging  yet.  After  our  return  home  we  arranged  for  a 
lecture  in  the  San  Francisco  Opera  House.  The  great 
auditorium  was  full  of  both  friends  and  foes  of  the  Chinese, 
and  for  an  hour  and  a  half  he  made  a  characteristic  argu- 


468  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

ment  and  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  stranger  in  onr  midst  and 
poured  in  shot  and  shell  upon  the  hosts  that  whether  on  the 
sand-lot  or  in  the  press  or  pulpit  shout,  "The  Chinese  must 
go!  "  Subsequently  in  Oakland  he  gave  his  great  lecture  on 
"Does  Death  End  All?"  He  called  on  us  at  our  residence, 
and  nearly  the  first  thing  he  did  after  entering  was  to  ask 
to  see  the  last  copy  of  the  Christian  Statesman. 

Joseph  Cook  with  all  his  greatness,  had  serious  personal 
defects.  He  lacked  that  warm  social  element  that  is  sure  to 
win  others  to  us.  He  was  not  exactly'  an  ascetic  recluse,  liv- 
ing within  himself,  but  not  far  from  it.  He  lacked  that  quiet 
gentlemanly  demeanor  and  affability  of  manners  which  all 
admire  and  which  are  sure  to  win  our  affections.  But  in  brain 
power  and  culture,  and  as  an  original  thinker  and  writer 
and  speaker,  Joseph  Cook  was  head  and  shoulders  above  the 
majority  of  the  great  men  of  this  generation.  As  a  leader  in 
advanced  thoughts  and  as  a  courageous  reformer  and  witness 
against  popular  errors  and  popular  wrongs  he  is  or  was 
almost  without  a  peer.  His  lecture  on  "Does  Death  End 
All?"  is  a  marvelous  manifestation  of  close  thought  and 
logical  power. 


CHAPTER   XIvVII. 
MivSsiON  Work  and  a  Missionary  Tour. 

The  Christians  of  both  nationalities  in  the  mission  were 
sufficient  in  number  and  intelHgence  to  observe  the  week  of 
prayer  in  January,  1880.  The  Chinese  Christians  were 
more  numerous  than  the  others  so  that  most  of  the  prayers 
and  remarks  were  in  their  own  language.  The  Chinese 
elder  who  was  also  the  native  helper,  was  interpreter  when 
needed.  Two  or  three,  however,  during  the  services  both 
spoke  and  prayed  in  English.  On  the  evening  in  w^hich  the 
subject  of  missions  was  the  theme,  two  of  them  spoke  with 
earnestness  and  fluency. 

Soon  after  the  meetings  another  Chinese  convert  w^as  bap- 
tized, Lo  Ho3^  a  jj-oung  man  of  most  lovely  disposition  and 
who,  though  long  and  often  tried  sorely,  at  latest  accounts 
continued  a  firm  disciple.  Then  shortly  before  our  next 
communion,  which  was  on  the  second  Sabbath  of  April, 
another  convert,  Wong  Chu,  was  admitted  to  the  church. 
The  baptism  was  on  Sabbath  after  the  action  sermon  from, 
"Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father,"  etc. 

During  this  communion  season  again  I  was  without 
ministerial  aid.  How  joyous  it  would  have  been  to  me  if  I 
could  have  been  favored  with  the  presence  and  assistance  of 
some  dear  brother.  But  we  were  so  far  away  how  could  I 
expect  it?  Yet  I  had  such  a  burden  of  cares  and  labors 
resting  upon  me  I  now  wonder  that  I  was  brought  through 
it  all.  I  did  not  see  it  then. but  afterwards  I  learned  how 
unwise  I    had   been  in  undertaking  such  manifold  labors. 

(469) 


470  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   vSUNSET    LAND. 

The  work  of  the  night  schools,  seven  nights  every  week,  in 
a  room  full  of  Chinese  scholars,  or  in  another  not  well  ven- 
tilated, imperceptibl}'  and  graduall}'  undermined  m)^  health. 
Yet  I  continued  for  I  did  not  know  how  to  avoid  it;  and  I  loved 
the  work  for  the  reward  came  with  it.  If  there  is  joy  in 
heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repents,  why  should  not  we  be 
happy  in  our  efforts  to  bring  sinners  to  repentance? 

Believing  that  duty  called  for  rest  and  change,  and  desir- 
ous of  being  at  Synod  to  plead  for  the  Oakland  mission 
and  to  awaken  in  the  church  more  interest  in  the  behalf 
of  the  Chinese  of  California,  I  followed  the  advice  of  my 
wife  and  determined  to  make  a  tour  east.  Procuring  extra 
teachers  for  the  mission  in  my  absence,  and  giving  it  into 
the  charge  of  Mrs.  Johnston  and  the  helper,  and  taking  our 
daughter  Rosie  for  my  traveling  companion,  I  bade  good-bj^ 
to  loved  ones  at  home  and  took  the  overland  train  on  Mon- 
day evening,  April  19.  We  spent  our  first  Sabbath  in  Chi- 
cago with  my  niece,  Mrs.  Helen  Hervey.  We  all  met  in 
prayer-meeting  with  a  Mr.  Smyth  and  family.  Covenanters 
formerly  from  Irelatid  but  now  members  of  one  of  our  con- 
gregations in  Iowa.  And  while  in  Chicago  I  called  on  my 
life-long  friend.  Dr.  David  Tidball,  who  had  removed  thither 
from  New  Castle,  Pa.  It  was  good  to  see  his  face  once 
more.  No  more  faithful  friend  was  ever  on  my  List,  and 
this  was  by  no  means  short.  Our  second  Sabbath  was  spent 
among  our  friends  at  Belle-Centre  and  Northwood.  In  the 
First  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  latter  place  I 
gave  a  lecture  on  "California — Its  I^ight  and  Shade."  This 
included  a  discussion  of  the  Chinese  questions.  On  Sabbath 
evening  we  had  a  large  missionary  meeting  in  the  college 
chapel  where  I  spoke  at  length  on  the  Chinese  missions  in 
California  and  especially  of  our  own.  Journeying  eastward 
we  stopped  at  Utica  and  visited  with  nephew  Robinson 
Johnston    and  his  mother-in-law,   Mrs.   Kirkpatrick.     Here 


MISSION    WORK    AND    A    MISSIONARY   TOUR.  47 1 

also  I  gave  a  lecture  anent  the  Chinese  mission.    Thence  we 
journeyed  to  St.  Clairsville  to  visit  my  brother,  J.  B.  John- 
ston and  family.     Here  we  spent  our  third  Sabbath,  and  I 
lectured  in   the  United    Presbyterian  Church,    also  in   the 
Methodist.     At  this  time  my  brother  was  growing  old  and 
feeble,  being  about  seventy-eight  years  of  age.     I  felt  that  I 
would  never  see  him  again.     He  had  ever  been   to  me  a 
faithful  and  loving  brother.      I  now  loved  him  more  than 
ever.     Our  talks  together  and  alone  were  pleasant  and  lov- 
ing.    His  last  prayer — it  was  at  his  family  altar  the  morning 
of    our   departure — was   characteristic   and   seemed   to   me 
almost  a  divine  benediction.     We  parted  to  meet  no  more 
on  this  side  of  the  vail.     In  less  than  two  years  and  a  half 
he  departed  to  be  among  the  celestials.     He  had  his  infirmi- 
ties— who  has  none  ? — but  he  was  a  true  child  of  God  and  a 
man  eminent  in  faith  and  prayer;  and  his  works  follow  him. 
Leaving    my  daughter  with    brother's  family  for  two  or 
three  days  and  then  to  meet  me  on  the  way  eastward,  I  went 
to  New  Athens  to  see  my  alma  fnater  once  more.     It  had 
been  revived  after  peace  came,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Vincent  was 
the  president.     He  invited   me  to   lodge  with  him,  and  I 
gave  my  lecture  on  California  in  the  college  chapel.     Except 
President  Vincent,  the  faculty  and  students  were  all  stran- 
gers.    It  didn't  seem  like  days  of  yore  in  student  life.    Then 
slavery  was  the  overshadowing  and  dominant  institution  in 
the  land;  now  the  millions  were  free  and   thousands  of  the 
freedmen  in  the  colleges  of  the  .south  or  north.     The  desolat- 
ing war  which  had  broken  the  bondman's  chains  and  also 
had  for  the  time  silenced  old  Franklin's  bell  on  which  was 
cast,  "Proclaim  Liberty  throughout  all  the  land,"  was  long 
since  over  and  the  old  bell  again  calling  the  students  together 
for  chapel  service.     Coming  out  of  the  old  town  next  morn- 
ing and  looking  back  to  take  my  last  view  of  what  was  dear 
to  me  now  only  because  of  its  hallowed  associations,  I  could 


472  LOOKING    BACK    F^ROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

not  conceal  m}^  sadness  as  I  said,  ''Vale,  alma  mater  mea, 
vale. ' ' 

Next  I  found  my  way  to  the  homes  of  my  two  cousins, 
Hervey  and  Stewart  Black,  my  older  playmates  in  child- 
hood. Cousin  Herve}^,  now  an  old  elder  in  the  Presbj^terian 
Church,  kindly  drove  me  to  my  father's  grave  in  the  old 
burying-ground  beside  the  old  brick  church  in  which  my 
parents  once  worshiped  and  in  which  I  w^as  baptized.  I  had 
not  seen  that  grave  for  thirty-five  years,  when  one  cold 
winter  da}-  my  weeping  mother  rested  on  my  arm  as  we  saw 
them  \2iy  awa}'  all  that  remained  of  one  we  loved  so  well. 
No  voice  was  heard  as  I  gathered  some  grasses  that  grew 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  old  marble  headstone  and  turned 
away  sorrowing  that  I  had  not  been  a  son  worth}-  of  such  a 
father.  Three  miles  further  took  us  to  the  old  farm — to  the 
spot  where  sixty  j^ears  ago  these  eyes  first  saw  the  light — to 
the  old  brick  house  we  used  to  call  our  home.  But,  O  how 
changed!  Things  I  thought  to  see  were  gone.  The  old 
oak  tree  under  whose  shade  sister  and  I  used  to  play  or  sat 
to  study  our  Bible  or  our  catechism,  was  gone  and  the  spot 
where  once  it  stood  was  all  bare!  I  asked  leave  of  the 
strangers  who  now  occupied  the  house  to  pass  through  it 
and  once  more  to  look  upon  its  walls  and  its  old  fireplaces  at 
which  I  had  sat  to  hear  my  father  read  from  the  old  family 
Bible  and  where  my  mother  when  we  were  alone  had  taught 
me  to  pray.  But  all  seemed  so  strange  and  desolate  I  could 
not  linger  but  hurried  away  in  sadness  from  the  old  home  of 
my  childhood. 

Another  short  ride  took  us  to  the  old  home  of  my  Grand- 
father Black  and  that  sweet  old  grandmother  who,  whenever 
in  my  childhood  I  went  to  see  her  always  took  me  on  her 
lap  and  kissed  her  "little  Robinson,"  and  never  let  me  start 
back  home  before  she  had  given  me  a  piece  of  bread  and 
butter  "with  honey  on  it."     The  reader  may  smile,  but  that 


MISSION    WORK    AND    A    MISSIONARY    TOUR.  475 

dear  grandmother  always  seemed  to  me  like  an  angel.  With 
the  eye  of  memory  I  yet  see  the  old  cottage  and  near  by  the 
twenty  or  thirty  beehives  where  grandfather  used  to  handle 
the  swarming  bees  as  if  only  pets,  while  I  ran  far  away  in 
fear.  But  now  all  was  gone.  The  grass-covered  lot  and 
the  old  spring  near  by  were  all  that  remained. 

Having  visited  the  friends,  and  lodging  with  Cousin  Stew- 
art, also  an  honored  elder  in  the  old  church,  I  hastened  to 
Bridgeport,  opposite  Wheeling,  Va.,  to  meet  my  daughter 
and  pass  to  Pittsburg  where  I  had  an  opportunity  to  lecture 
on  the  Chinese  question.  At  Beaver  Falls  I  lectured  on 
Chinese  missions,  and  thence  went  to  New  Galilee  to  spend 
the  Sabbath  with  nephew  Rev.  N.  M.  Johnston.  On  Mon- 
day afternoon  I  had  an  important  meeting  with  the  Board 
of  Missions.  I  think  Dr.  Thomas  Sproull  was  the  chair- 
man at  that  time.  He  asked  me  numerous  questions  in 
reference  to  the  work,  whether  for  his  own  information  or 
for  the  Board  I  do  not  know;  but  the  result  was  advanced 
and  favorable  action. 

The  next  two  days  were  spent  in  New  Castle  where  I 
lectured  two  evenings  in  Rev.  Dr.  Browne's  church,  visiting 
many  old  friends  and  lodging  one  night  with  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  pastor.  Rev.  S.  J.  Crowe,  and  the  other  with 
Dr.  Browne.  Later  in  the  week  I  Itctured  in  Wilkinsburg, 
lodging  with  Brother  Joseph  Hunter.  At  the  close  of  the 
lecture  Mrs.  William  Wills  invited  me  to  diue  with  her 
family  next  day.  While  I  was  there  she  handed  me  fifty 
dollars  for  the  Chinese  mission.  As  I  had  not  been  solic- 
iting any  funds  whatever,  this  contribution  showed  how 
much  she  was  interested  in  the  cause. 

During  the  most  of  the  remaining  time  before  departing 
to  Synod  I  was  kindly  entertained  in  the  family  of  Mrs. 
Oudry  of  Allegheny.  On  several  occasions  before  at  meetings 
of  Synod  I  had  lodged  with  the  same  family,  and  to  no  other 


474  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

in  that  city  am  I  so  indebted  for  kind  hospitalities  which 
alwa^'S  made  that  house  a  home  to  her  many  friends.  Pure 
religion  and  undefiled  ever  made  it  such. 

From  the  first  inauguration  of  the  mission  in  Oakland 
Rev.  Dr.  Milligan  was  deeply  interested  in  it.  It  had 
always  been  his  judgment  that  the  church  should  devote 
her  energies  and  expend  her  funds  in  home  mission  work 
among  the  freedmen,  the  Indians,  and  the  Chinese,  rather 
than  in  foreign  mission  work.  Rev.  Dr,  Sloane,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  not  been  much  interested  in  the  Chinese 
work,  alleging  that  we  had  as  many  missions  already  as  we 
could  support.  Recently,  however,  he  had  changed  his 
mind.  In  an  interview  with  him  while  I  was  tarrying  in 
Allegheny  on  this  occasion  he  said  he  had  changed  his  mind 
and  that  hereafter  he  would  do  all  he  could  for  the  new  mis- 
sion among  the  Chinese.  Accordingly,  as  he  was  at  that 
time  pastor  of  the  Allegheny  congregation  he  arranged  for  a 
missionary  meeting  in  his  own  church  on  Sabbath  evening. 
The  house  was  crowded  full.  In  the  opening  devotional 
exercises  he  read  the  forty-ninth  chapter  of  Isaiah  in  which 
occurs  that  wonderful  prophetic  verse  (the  twelfth)  closing 
with  these  words:  "And  these  from  the  land  of  Sinim" 
(China).  Profes-ior  D.  B.  Willson  gave  the  opening  address. 
I  followed  and  spoke  a  short  hour  in  reference  to  the  Chinese 
mi.ssions  in  California,  especially  the  Covenanter  mis.sion. 
This  was  followed  by  another  address  by  Dr.  Milligan.  As 
most  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Board  were  present  I 
hoped  that  night  that  hereafter  the  Oakland  mi-ssion  would 
receive  more  favor;  and  it  did. 

Oa  the  following  Wednesday  evening  Synod  met  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  weather  was  very  hot  nearly  all  the 'time  of 
its  sessions.  I  was  in  feeble  health,  for  I  did  not  recruit  as 
fast  as  I  had  hoped  before  leaving  home.  As  usual,  the 
church  in  which  Synod  sat  was  generally  crowded  and  the 


MISSION    WORK    AND    A    MISSIONARY    TOUR.  475 

members  suffered  with  the  heat.  This  lack  of  comfort  was 
always  a  hindrance  to  prompt  and  proper  synodical  work 
and,  as  I  always  thought,  a  strong  reason  for  Synod's  meet- 
ing earlier  in  May  and  before  the  hot  weather  that  so  often 
occurs  about  the  first  of  June.  The  most  important  conven- 
tion or  legislative  body  in  any  land  is  the  annual  Synod  of 
the  old  Covenanter  Church.  That  body  should  always  meet 
at  the  best  season  of  the  year  and  have  abundance  of  time 
for  doing  her  work  well  without  that  rush  that  nearly 
always  characterizes  the  .sessions  of  the  last  day  or  two,  and 
especially  the  last  session.  Such  ru.sh  must  be  offensive  to 
the  church's  Head  in  whose  name  Synod  convenes. 

The  Sabbath  that  occurred  during  the  time  of  Synod  was 
spent  in  New  York  where,  under  the  conduct  of  Mr.  McKib- 
ben,  wMth  whom  I  lodged,  I  visited  the  Chinese  mission  on 
Mott  Street,  the  only  one  in  that  city  then.  x\t  the  First 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  I  heard  a  characteristic  ser- 
mon by  Dr.  A.  M.  Milligan,  and  then  in  the  evening  I 
lectured  on  the  Bible. 

In  accordance  with  the  arrangements  of  Synod's  com- 
mittee on  missions  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  First 
Church  on  Tuesday  evening.  Rev.  J.  C.  Todd,  then  labor- 
ing on  the  extreme  western  boundary,  .spoke  in  behalf  of 
domestic  missions.  Elder  Boxley,  of  Selma,  Ala.,  in  behalf 
of  the  freedmen's  mission,  and  I  in  behalf  of  the  Chinese  mis- 
sion in  California.  Mr.  Boxley,  always  a  plea.sant  speaker, 
evidently  had  the  favorable  attention  of  the  people.  The 
freedmen's  mission  was  always  regarded,  and  rightly,  with 
special  favor.  That  was  the  first  time  the  claims  of  the  work 
in  California  had  been  pressed  upon  the  Synod.  I  would 
have  had  le.ss  pain  of  mind  if  I  had  not  known  my  utter 
inability  to  press  tho.se  claims  properly.  To  say  in  Synod 
what  I  wished  to  say  on  any  important  subject  was  always 
one    of  the    most   difficult   duties  I  ever   had    to   perform. 


476  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND, 

My  consciousness  of  inferiority  as  a  public  speaker  was 
always  embarrassing.  Nevertheless  it  was  manifest  at  that 
Synod  that  the  work  among  the  Chinese  in  California  had 
already  a  strong  hold  upon  the  friends  of  missions. 

Synod  adjourned  late  on  Wednesday  night.  In  company 
with  many  of  the  western  members  I  took  the  homeward- 
bound  train  and  reached  Belle-Centre,  O.,  Thursday  night 
about  midnight  and  was  met  at  the  station  by  my  daughter 
who  had  been  visiting  her  uncles  and  aunt  !^Iary  Jane  while 
I  was  at  Synod.  On  Saturday  morning  we  bade  good-by  to 
friends  beloved  and  were  in  Chicago  by  the  evening.  Again 
we  lodged  over  Sabbath  with  that  most  beloved  niece,  Helen 
Hervey.  According  to  previous  arrangements  I  preached 
in  the  house  of  Mr.  Smyth,  the  elder  mentioned  on  a  pre- 
vious page,  and  baptized  his  child,  a  beautiful  babe,  "little 
Susie."  This  baptismal  rite  I  performed  at  the  request  of 
Mr.  Smyth's  pastor  in  Iowa,  Rev.  R.  C.  Wylie.  Elder  Smyth 
was  a  very  intelligent  and  good  man  and  one  of  the  "most 
straitest  sect"  of  the  Covenanters.  Why  was  he  not 
spared  to  be  one  of  the  new  Covenanter  congregation  now 
in  Chicago?  But  God  took  him,  and  now  "little  Susie,"  a 
grown-up  and  beautiful  girl,  is  in  Oakland,  but  not  of  the 
Covenanter  fold.  Her  mother  took  Susie  with  her  into 
the  Presbyterian  fold  where  there  was  more  room  than  in 
the  little  h;^ll  occupied  by  the  "bigoted  Covenanters"  and 
the  hated  Mongolians. 

"Saturday,  June  12.  By  the  good  hand  of  our  God  upon 
us,  Rosie  and  I  have  had  a  prosperous  journey  and  at  11 
o'clock  were  met  at  San  Pablo  by  wife  and  daughter  Mary 
who  welcomed  us  home.  And  for  bringing  us  safely  home 
again  I  here  and  now  record  my  devout  gratitude  to  God  our 
Preserver."      (Diary.) 

Three  or  four  months  after  our  return  home  the  mission 
lost  one  of  its  best  teachers.     We  felt  the  less  all  the  more 


MISSION    WORK    AND    A    MISSIONARY    TOUR.  477 

becau'^e  she  was  not  only  among  the  best  but  one  whose 
services  were  gratuitous.  For  years,  indeed  from  the  open- 
ing of  the  mission  during  all  the  years  up  to  the  time  of  her 
retirement,  she  worked  voluntarily  seven  nights  in  the  week 
and  up  to  9:30  o'clock,  all  for  the  good  she  was  doing. 
True,  we  were  glad  to  give  her  her  board  and  lodging  in 
part  pay,  and  furnished  her  clothing  also,  which  did  not  cost 
very  much  as  she  did  not  care  to  be  dressed  up  to  "the  tip 
of  the  fashions."  Yet  as  we  did  not  pay  her  a  teacher's 
salary  we  could  afford  to  be  generous  in  the  supplying  of 
her  needs.  We  were  exceedingly  sorry  to  lose  her  from  the 
mi.ssion  for  she  had  been  with  us  from  the  beginning,  always 
at  her  post  and  doing  her  work  well.  Besides,  we  knew  full 
well  that  we  could  never  find  another  to  fill  her  place.  This 
teacher  was  our  second  daughter,  Mary  Adela,  who  on  the 
2otli  of  October,  1880,  was  married  to  James  Henry 
Kirkpatrick  of  Utica,  O.  They  were  married  by  her  father 
in  our  own  parlor.  We  did  not  charge  him  with  theft  in 
stealing  her  heart,  but  as  by  the  first  overland  train  he  took 
her  away,  leaving  a  vacant  chair  in  our  house,  we  could 
only  lament  our  great  loss.  That  vacant  chair  was  often 
wet  with  tears.  We  had  this  partial  consolation,  however, 
that  what  was  our  loss  was  gain  to  him.  But  did  he  con- 
sider that  he  had  found  and  that  we  were  giving  away  to 
him  a  woman  whose  price  is  far  above  rubies? 

During  our  absence  the  care  of  the  mission  devolved  upon 
Mrs.  Johnston  and  the  helper,  Ju  Sing,  assisted  by  young 
women  teachers  in  the  night  school.  He  was  a  tolerably 
good  interpreter  but  not  sufficiently  taught  in  the  Scripture 
and  Gospel  truths  to  be  a  lay  preacher;  but  he  was  a  faith- 
ful man,  and  I  gave  him  as  janitor  the  care  of  the  mission 
rooms.  In  looking  after  the  wronged  Chinese,  or  the  sick, 
or  the  unfortunate,  he  was  always  a  great  help  to  me.  Soon 
after  the  mission  was  in  good  working  order  I  procured  a 


478      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

home  or  lodging-house  for  the  converts  or  the  unemplo5'ed 
adherents,  /.  <?.,  those  who  had  abandoned  idols  and  were 
learning  the  lessons  of  Christianity  and  examining  it.  This 
lodging-house  needed  some  reliable  person  in  authority  to 
have  care  of  it  and  oversight  of  the  lodgers.  This  also 
devolved  upon  Ju  Sing.  And  he  was  ever  faithful.  Besides, 
while  he  continued  to  be  the  helper  we  gave  him  special 
instruction  in  Bible  and  religious  truth.  We  sent  him  to 
the  public  school  also,  that  he  might  become  a  good  English 
scholar.  But  he  was  not  brainy,  and  he  never  could  have 
become  a  superior  scholar  or  good  missionary. 

After  the  church  saw  that  the  Oakland  mission  was  doing 
a  good  work  and  after  Synod  asked  congregational  collec- 
tions for  it,  liberal  contributions  came  from  all  parts  of  the 
church.  Added  to  these  were  numerous  and  generous  con- 
tributions from  individuals.  When  anj  of  these  were  sent 
to  me  directly  I  reported  them  every  month  to  the  Board. 
We  never  lacked  money  necessary  to  carry  on  the  work  in 
our  humble  and  economical  method.  Wketi  now  the  work 
had  grown  into  fair  proportions  and  required  more  of  my 
attention,  when  health  required  me  to  avoid  excessive  labor 
too  long  endured,  and  when  the  contributions  of  eastern 
friends  of  the  mission  were  sufficient  to  free  us  from  anxiety 
about  the  financial  future  of  the  mission,  I  resigned  my  posi- 
tion in  the  newspaper  office  and  gave  myself  wholly  to  mis- 
sion work,  though  at  no  time  did  I  ever  ask  or  receive  any 
salary  from  the  Board,  nor  did  any  of  the  family;  yet  we 
never  "lacked  any  good  thing."  After  our  older  daughter 
completed  her  studies  in  the  classical  course  of  the  High 
School,  and  then  after  two  years"  additional  study  graduated 
in  Snell  Seminary,  she  accepted  a  position  as  teacher  in  the 
same  institution.  She  taught  on  a  low  salary,  but  the  wages 
of  mother  and  daughter  were  sufficient  to  meet  our  family 
expenses,  and  thus  we  all  were  able  to  work  for  the  mission 


MISSION   WORK   AND   A    MISSIONARY   TOUR.  479 

without  any  salary  from  the  Board.  Our  God  blessed  us, 
and  we  had  our  reward  in  the  work. 

After  the  furnishing  of  the  mission  home,  the  regular  and 
ordinary  expenses  were  the  monthly  rents,  gas,  and  fuel,  and 
the  rent  of  the  lodging-house,  though  a  part  of  this  was  paid 
by  some  of  the  lodgers  who  were  able.  Then  there  were  the 
wages  of  the  helper  and  of  the  other  teachers. 

From  the  first  I  was  anxious  to  see  some  of  the  young 
converts  at  .studies  that  would  fit  them  to  be  helpers  or  mis- 
sionaries among  their  own  people  whether  here  or  in  China. 
In  the  early  years  of  the  mission  there  were  several  who,  as 
I  thought,  should  be  educated.  They  w^ere  poor  and  could 
obtain  scholarship  onlyl)y  the  help  of  others.  I  appealed  to 
friends  who  had  means.  A  few  liberal  contributions  for  this 
students'  fund  were  received.  By  means  of  it  I  was  able  to 
help  three  of  the  converts  to  attend  the  Oakland  public 
schools  for  some  time.  Before  they  were  admitted,  however, 
they  had  to  cut  oif  their  cues  and  put  on  American  clothes. 
One  of  these,  Chu  Gock,  paid  for  his  board  by  working  as  a 
house  servant  morning  and  evening,  and  he  continued  in  the 
school  until  he  had  become  a  pretty  good  English  scholar. 
In  arithmetic  he  always  led  his  class.  It  was  not  the  design 
of  this  fund  to  educate  only  one  but  to  help  all  who  could  be 
profited  by  it  and  who  would  use  it  well;  yet  if  the  fund  had 
been  sufficient  I  would  have  rejoiced  to  help  several  to  be 
prepared  to  enter  Geneva  College  in  the  hope  that  after  a 
while  educated  Chinese  might  be  ready  to  be  sent  out  by  the 
church  to  China.  And  during  all  these  years  I  have  been 
sorry  that  we  have  had  no  Chinese  students  in  our  own  col- 
lege. What  better  work,  in  the  educational  department, 
could  the  church  do  now  than  to  train  students  of  all  three 
of  the  races  for  whom  we  have  missions,  negroes,  Chinese, 
Indians  ? 

Much  of  my  time  was  taken  up  in  helping  the  unfortunate 


480  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

or  in  protecting  them  from  wrong-doers.  For  years,  all 
through  the  agitation  of  the  "sand-lot"  meetings,  held  on 
the  Sabbath  day,  the  unoffending  strangers  were  liable  to  all 
manner  of  abuse  and  inj  ustice  by  hoodlums  and  ' '  Damn  the 
Chinamen"  Paddies  and  more  respectable  (?)  people  who 
resorted  to  all  kinds  of  means  to  get  rid  of  them  wherever 
they  were  rivals  in  business  or  labor  or  manufactures. 
Oftentimes  the  police  courts  gave  them  no  relief.  As  in  the 
da3^s  of  slaver}',  the  power  was  on  the  side  of  the  oppressor, 
and  they  had  almost  no  friend  who  would  take  time  or  risk 
reproach  in  ridding  them  from  ill  men's  might  or  securing 
justice  for  them  in  the  courts.  Many  an  innocent  man  had 
to  pay  a  fine  or  lie  in  prison  because  of  false  witnesses  or 
lack  of  truth. 

In  San  Francisco  there  was  one  man  who  was  ever  and 
everj^where  the  friend  of  the  Chinamen,  viz.  Dr.  Otis  Gibson, 
superintendent  of  the  M.  E.  Chinese  Mission  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. In  his  untiring  and  courageous  efforts  in  behalf  of 
the  poor  and  the  wronged,  he  had  no  peer.  Being  of  large 
and  strong  physique  and  dauntless  in  his  courage  whether 
on  the  street  or  in  the  courts,  even  hoodlums  and  policemen 
feared  him.  The}'  knew  he  was  a  man  of  God  and  was  in 
the  right.  The  innocent  and  the  persecuted  and  the  dis- 
tressed went  to  him  for  help.  They  were  not  disappointed. 
Good  men,  especially  the  friends  of  missions,  loved  him,  and 
though  his  life  was  cut  short  he  lived  to  be  honored  by  many 
who  had  hated  him  because  he  stood  in  their  way  when  they 
sought  to  do  wrong  to  the  poor.  But  God  bade  him  rest 
from  his  labors.  If  they  could  have  been  at  the  burial,  thou- 
sands whose  friend  he  had  been  would  have  wept  at  his 
grave.  In  Oakland  there  was  not  so  much  violence  or  wrong 
so  that  the  missionary's  time  was  not  taxed  so  heavily?  But 
I  learned  much  from  Dr.  Gibson  and  I  admired  his  courage 
and  kindness  so  much  that  I  instinctively  followed  his  exam- 
ple; and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  help  the  needy. 


Otis  Gibson    D    D. 


MISSION    WORK    AND    A    INIISSIONARY    TOUR.  48 1 

Amonf^  the  other  honorable  and  beloved  missionaries, 
superintendents  of  Chinese  missions  of  their  own  denomina- 
tions and  in  vSan  Francisco,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  make 
special  mention  of  Rev.  Dr.  Loomis,  Pre.sbyterian,  Rev.  Dr. 
Hartwell,  Baptist,  Rev.  William  Pond,  Congregationalist. 
Dr.  Loomis  and  Dr.  Hartwell  had  been  mi-ssionaries  in  China 
and  were  good  Chinese  scholars.  Dr.  Pond  was  general 
superintendent  only;  the  work  in  San  Francisco  was  done 
largely  by  Jee  Gam,  the  helper.  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit  took 
charge  of  the  work  in  the  Presbyterian  mission  after  the 
death  of  Dr.  Loomis.  During  all  the  storm}^  j-ear  of  the 
anti-Chinese  excitement  tho.se  noble  men  stood  up  together 
in  behalf  of  the  insulted  and  wronged  strangers  in  our  midst; 
and  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Gibson  during  two  or  three 
years  we  held  monthly  meetings  for  prayer  and  mutual 
counsel  and  help  against  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the 
poor.  (These  meetings  occurred  before  Dr.  Condit  and  Dr. 
Masters  became  the  succes.sors of  Dr.  Loomis  and  Dr.  Gibson, 
decea.sed.)  And  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  have  the  oppor- 
tunity here  and  now  of  .saying  that  to  those  faithful  workers 
I  was  greatly  indel)ted  for  wise  coun.sel.  Ours  was  the  only 
mission  in  Oakland  at  that  time,  and  to  me  and  my  co- 
workers they  were  a  tower  of  strength. 

In  the  outskirts  of  Oakland  there  was  a  large  fruit  cannery 
in  which  for  several  summers  five  or  six  hundred  Chinese 
were  employed.  As  they  were  not  at  work  on  Sabbaths  I 
thought  it  an  open  door  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
They  lodged  in  cheap  houses  on  the  ground  and  had  com- 
mand of  their  own  time  on  the  Sabbath.  I  .spoke  to  the 
proprietor  and  obtained  permission  to  hold  outdoor  mis.sion- 
ary  meetings  in  the  afternoons.  Taking  with  me  several  of 
the  most  advanced  Christians  of  the  mission  and  the  helper, 
and  some  Psalm-books  and  Chinese  tracts,  we  went  to  the 
grounds,  took    a   favorable   position   for   the  meeting,  and 

31 


482  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

1)egan  by  singing.  This  was  an  invitation  to  come  to  hear 
the  Gospel,  and  generall}^  one  or  two  hundred  came,  some- 
times not  more  than  fifty  or  sixty.  As  often  as  convenient  I 
took  with  me  the  best  available  Chinese-speaking  preacher 
or  missionary  or  native  helper  from  any  other  mission. 
After  prayer  two  or  three  preachers  addressed  the  people. 
Many  heard  attentively  all  the  time.  Some  would  come  and 
listen  a  while  or  go  away  without  showing  any  interest  I 
alwa3"S  spoke  through  an  interpreter  for  almost  none  of  them 
understood  English.  It  required  every  possible  effort  to 
secure  their  attention  and  hold  them  to  the  end.  Ordinary 
Gospel  sermons  failed.  I  often  thought,  O,  if  Jesus  had 
i)een  there  to  speak  to  those  dying  souls!  They  know  so 
little.  How  can  we  reach  them?  And  yet  some  seemed  to 
listen  as  if  longing  to  know  some  better  way  than  the  wor- 
ship of  idols,  or  as  if  saying.  Tell  me  more  about  Jesus. 
After  prayer  and  singing  and  giving  out  a  tract  or  leaflet  to 
every  one,  we  bade  them  good-by.  Sometimes  one  who 
could  speak  a  little  English  would  say  to  me,  "Come  back 
again." 

These  meetings  were  kept  up  for  several  months,  or  during 
the  canning  season  of  two  summers.  Perhaps  it  was  shortly 
after  the  opening  of  the  third  season  we  went  one  Sabbath 
afternoon  to  find  the  laborers  all  busy  in  the  works  as  on 
other  days.  They  continued  to  work  on  the  Sabbaths,  and 
we  had  to  abandon  our  Eusk  Cannery  missionary  meetings. 
Whether  any  soul  was.  saved  or  even  profited  we  could  not 
know.  Probably  a  few  afterwards  came  into  our  mission 
school,  but  this  was  the  onlj^  good  resulting  as  far  as  we 
knew.     Probably  more  may  be  known  in  the  life  to  come. 

Some  of  the  Psalms  used  at  our  missionar}-  meetings, 
whether  at  Eusk's  or  on  the  street  in  Oakland's  Chinatown, 
were  selections  from  Rev.  J.  C.  Nevins'  (L^nited  Presb}^- 
terian)  translations.     He  was  regarded  as  the  best  Chinese 


MISSION    WORK    AND    A    MISSIONARY    TOUR.  483 

scholar  among  Americans  in  California.  While  in  China  he 
had  translated  into  Chinese  meters  about  fifty  of  the  Psalms. 
From  his  versifications  and  by  his  permission  we  copied  quite 
a  number  upon  canvas  for  use  in  the  mission.  At  first  effort 
the  Chinese  are  "miserable  singers."  Among  the  masses 
in  China  there  is  no  knowledge  of  vocal  music  as  a  science. 
Their  common  singing  is  merely  barbaric.  When  they  begin 
to  sing  Psalms  their  voices  are  painfully  harsh.  After  a 
while,  however,  by  much  drill  a  few  of  them  become  beauti- 
ful singers. 

In  the  progress  of  the  work  we  found  it  necessary  to 
change  the  location  of  the  mission  nearer  the  center  of  the 
city.  Here  we  had  a  larger  mission  chapel  and  more  con- 
venient. And  the  change  called  for  large  expense  in  new 
furniture  and  costly  matting,  etc.  And  not  far  from  the 
chapel  we  rented  a  cottage  for  the  Christians'  home.  This 
occasioned  the  displeasure  of  the  families  near  by  who  hated 
the  Chinese  whether  Christians  or  pagans,  and  they  threat- 
ened to  give  us  trouble;  but  we  went  on  in  our  duties  as 
before.  The  Chinese  lodgers  were  as  peaceable  and  ([uiet 
as  others  even  the  best.  But  they  wore  "pigtails."  A 
whisky  saloon  was  on  the  corner.  The  people  could  en- 
dure the  saloon,  and  without  objection;  but  they  could  not 
endure  the  presence  of  the  Mongolians  who  never  entered 
anv  saloon. 


CHAPTER   XLVIIL 

Lights  and  Shadows. 

Soon  after  we  went  to  California  we  formed  the  aa^uaint- 
ance  of  old  John  Brown's  family  now  consisting  of  his 
widow  and  two  danghters,  one  married.  They  had  lived 
in  Humboldt  County  where  his  son  Solomon  was  a  sheep 
rancher.  Now  they  resided  in  Santa  Clara  County  and  had 
a  little  home  near  the  top  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains. 
A  steep  mountain  road  of  two  miles  more  or  less  led  to  their 
residence.  They  were  poor  and  in  debt  for  the  little  ranch 
which  they  had  set  out  in  fruit  trees  and  vines.  Mrs.  John- 
ston and  I  visited  them  in  their  new  home,  and  repeated  the 
visit  at  a  later  date.  Mrs.  Brown  was  a  plain  woman,  not 
highly  educated,  but  she  was  good  and  noble,  and  .she  believed 
in  the  old  martyr.  In  these  and  subsequent  interviews  Mrs. 
Brown  gave  me  much  information  that  is  not  found  in  any 
of  his  biographies.  Among  other  mementoes  she  gave  me 
some  of  his  manuscript  letters.  They  are  gems.  Her  daughter 
Sarah,  as  noble  a  young  woman  as  ever  mourned  a  martyr 
father,  helped  to  maintain  the  family  and  pa}^  off  the  debts 
by  giving  music  lessons  to  scholars  down  in  the  village  of 
Saratoga  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Afterwards  she  became 
an  artist  and  is  now  making  her  living  in  an  artist's  studio 
in  San  Jo.se.  The  ^^oungest  daughter,  Mrs.  Fablinger,  a 
beautiful  woman,  is  the  mother  of  a  family  of  lovely  chil- 
dren. Mr.  Fablinger  w^as  then  a  teacher;  now  he  owns  a 
little  fruit  ranch  near  Saratoga.  They  all  are  Congrega- 
tionalists  and  model  Christians.     Grace  is  not  inherited,  but 

(484) 


tIGHTS   AND  SHADOWS.  485 

his  children  seem  to  have  inherited  John  Brown's  virtues. 
Mrs.  Brown  honored  us  b^'  paying  us  several  visits  in  Oak- 
land. Her  grave  is  in  the  Congregational  church-yard  at 
Saratoga.  Since  her  mother's  death  Sarah  has  often 
been  our  guest.  We  honor  her  for  her  father's  sake 
and  highly  esteem  her  for  her  own  good  qualities,  one 
of  which  is  her  almost  devout  adoration  of  her  martyred 
father.  Since  the  death  of  Mrs.  Brown  it  was  my  privi- 
lege to  visit  his  daughter  Ruth  to  whom  it  was  thought 
he  was  peculiarly  devoted.  She  was  the  wife  of  William 
Thompson,  one  of  the  heroes  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and  she 
was  the  mother  of  several  children.  They  were  living 
at  that  time  on  a  little  ranch  a  few  miles  north  of  Pasa- 
dena, southern  California.  While  in  their  home  I  was  in 
the  presence  of  good  people  worthy  of  more  honor  than  the 
world  awards  to  those  who  have  fought  the  battles  of  truth 
and  righteousness. 

I  have  a  pleasant  recollection  of  service  done  to  the  aged. 
At  the  request  of  the  lady  managers  of  the  "Home  for  Aged 
Women"  I  went  one  Sabbath  a  month  for  a  year  or  more  to 
preach  to  the  inmates  of  the  institution.  Most  of  the  women 
were  Christians;  and  to  preach  Christ  and  the  consolations  of 
his  Gospel  was  a  ver}-  pleasant  service.  Mrs.  Johnston  often 
went  with  me  and  led  in  the  singing.  We  used  a  little  book 
of  selections  from  the  Psalms,  and  the  books  were  left  with 
the  old  people  that  they  might  learn  the  beauty  of  the  songs 
of  inspiration. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  Covenanters  residing  near  Santa 
Ana,  southern  California,  and  by  appointment  of  the  Board 
of  Home  Missions,  I  made  a  hurried  visit  there  and  preached 
one  Sabbath.  There  were  the  families  of  Elder  McCloy, 
Elder  Mitchell,  and  Mr.  McClurkin.  A  while  ago  there 
might  have  been  a  prospect  of  a  little  congregation  at  Santa 
Ana.     Now  it  was  too  late.     Mr.  McCloy  was  preparing  to 


486  LOOKING   BACK    I?ROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

remove  to  Texas.  The  United  Presbyterians  had  taken 
possession  of  the  field.  Mr.  Mitchell  began  to  attend  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  and  erelong  all  hope  of  a 
Covenanter  congregation  at  Santa  Ana  was  abandoned. 

On  my  way  to  or  from  Santa  Ana  I  called  upon  a  Cov- 
enanter family  in  lyos  Angeles,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Swizer,  formerly 
members  of  first  Philadelphia  congregation.  They  had  come 
to  California  for  his  health,  but  after  fighting  hard  several 
years  to  ward  off  the  enem^^  he  finall}^  died  of  consumption. 
A  while  afterwards  Mrs.  Swizer's  stepfather,  David  Lang, 
formerly  a  deacon  in  Topsham  and  then  an  elder  of  Ryegate 
Vermont  congregation,  came  to  southern  California,  bought 
a  ranch  in  the  country,  held  onto  his  Covenanter  principles 
for  a  while,  and  then  becoming  discouraged,  went  into  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Azusa.  Mrs.  Swizer  had  preceded 
him  in  the  same  way.  In  California  soil  Covenanter  seed 
does  not  .seem  to  flourish.  There  are  some  other  Covenant- 
ers in  that  part  of  the  state  yet.  Will  these  be  faithful  unto 
death  ? 

Around  Puget  Sound  the  soil  .seems  to  be  better  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  Scotch  heather.  Sometime  in  the  eighties 
a  few  pioneer  Covenanters  settled  at  and  near  Kent,  Wash. 
These  were  the  families  of  Dr.  Ewing,  Mr.  Elsie,  and  Mr. 
Clark.  When  living  in  Minnesota  Dr.  Ewing  had  been  a 
very  liberal  friend  of  the  Chinese  mission  in  California,  and 
had  often  contributed  to  it.  Soon  after  he  went  to  Kent  he 
wrote  to  me  inviting  me  to  visit  them  and  give  them  some 
preaching.  I  laid  the  petition  before  the  Central  Board. 
They  appointed  me  to  go  and  preach  two  or  three  Sabbaths. 
My  route  by  rail  took  me  near  the  base  of  Mount  Sha.sta  and 
over  the  Siskiyou  Mountains.  At  that  time  the  road  was 
not  finished.  Stages  carried  travelers  from  Cole's  Station, 
near  the  Si.skiyou  Range,  over  the  mountains  to  A.shland, 
Oregon.     When  the  road   was  built  afterwards  it  showed 


LIGHTS    AND    SHADOWS.  487 

engineering  skill  rarelj^  seen  in  the  country.  On  this  tour 
for  the  first  time  I  saw  the  Columbia  probably  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  large  rivers. 

While  in  Washington  I  lodged  part  of  the  time  with  Dr. 
Ewing's  family  and  part  with  Mr.  Elsie's.  Greatty  did  I 
enjoy  m}^  home  with  them. 

In  a  schoolhouse  in  Mr.  Elsie's  district  and  in  a  dense 
forest  Mrs.  Elsie  had  been  superintending  a  Sabbath-school 
during  the  summer.  In  this  schoolhouse  they  had  arranged 
for  the  preaching.  The  house  was  full  both  Sabbaths,  and 
I  preached  two  sermons  both  days.  The  Sabbath-school 
met  between  the  services.  In  the  evening  of  the  second 
Sabbath  I  preached  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Kent.  Those  five  sermons  were  the  first  Covenanter  dis- 
courses ever  preached  in  the  Puget  Sound  country.  At  that 
time  there  were  no  Covenanters  in  Seattle. 

During  the  days  between  the  two  Sabbaths  I  made  a  hasty 
visit  to  Victoria,  in  British  Columbia.  My  principal  object 
was  to  see  the  Chinese  mi.ssions  in  that  old  city.  There 
were  many  Chinese  there,  and  considerable  work  had  been 
done  among  them.  The  principal  worker  was  young  Mr. 
Gardiner,  son  of  a  Presbyterian  returned  missionary.  His 
widowed  mother  is  a  Chinese  Christian  woman  of  great 
excellency.  The  steamer  that  plied  between  Seattle  and 
Victoria  stopped  at  Port  Town  send  where  I  called  upon  a 
son  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  had  a  pleasant  inter\dew. 
He  was  collector  of  the  port.  Shortly  before  I  was  in  Seattle 
had  occurred  those  fearful  anti-Chinese  riots  in  which  for 
several  days  the  governor  of  the  territory'  with  a  large  mil- 
itary force  had  kept  the  mob  at  bay  when  they  were  deter- 
mined to  drive  away  every  Chinaman  from  the  city;  and 
there  were  many  of  them  there.  When  I  was  there  they 
nearly  all  had  gone  away  afraid  to  remain  after  such  terrible 
opposition. 


LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

At  Tacoma  similar  riots  had  occurred  and  the  Chinese  had 
been  driven  out.  Not  one  was  left.  The  citizens  in  public 
meetings  had  resolved  that  they  would  not  permit  any 
Chinaman,  at  any  time  or  for  any  purpose,  to  enter  the  city. 
This  their  vow  they  kept  by  their  loaded  guns. 

Ju  Bong  was  one  of  the  young  converts  who  was  anxious 
for  a  good  English  education,  and  that  he  might  get  it  in 
the  Oakland  schools  he  cut  off  his  cue  and  put  on  American 
clothes.  But  his  studies  were  hard  for  him  and  he  did  not 
continue  very  long  in  school  but  returned  to  work  again. 
He  was  amiable  and  kind-hearted  and  among  his  fellows  he 
was  a  favorite.  As  a  Christian  he  was  consistent  in  his  life 
and  alwaj'S  at  his  post.  He  was  one  of  the  few  who  became 
so  familiar  with  the  English  language  as  to  be  able  to  use  it 
in  our  prayer-meetings.  Having  accumulated  a  little  money 
he  became  a  partner  in  a  Chinese  store  in  compau}'  with  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  He  had  the  principal  charge 
of  the  store  and  lodged  in  a  room  in  the  rear.  But  he  con- 
tinued to  attend  the  mission  .school  and  was  alwaj-s  at  the 
weekly  evening  praj^er-meetings.  Going  home  from  one  of 
these  meetings  one  of  the  5'oung  men  walked  with  him  to 
the  store,  bade  him  good-night,  and  passed  on  to  his  lodging. 
That  was  the  last  time  Ju  Bong  was  seen  alive  by  any  of  his 
Christian  friends.  From  testimony  obtained  afterwards  it  is 
quite  probable  that  not  long  after  he  entered  his  store  and 
had  locked  the  door  a  man,  or  probably  two,  rapped.  He 
opened  the  door  and  recognizing  one  of  them  as  an  acquaint- 
ance admitted  them.  They  were  Chinamen.  At  a  later  hour 
he  was  seen  by  some  one  who  was  passing  by,  lying  pros- 
trate in  the  open  front  door  groaning  with  pain  from  a  pistol 
shot  in  the  back  in  the  region  of  the  loins.  To  the  police- 
man who  came  to  his  assistance  and  asked  him  what  was 
the    matter,  the  dying  man  said:   "Frank  Eee*  shot  me." 

"This  was  his  American  name  by  which  he  was  best  known. 


LIGHTS   AND   SHADOWS.  489 

The  police  ambulance  was  sent  for.  He  was  placed  in  it  and 
carried  to  the  receiving  hospital;  but  before  arrival  the  spirit 
of  Ju  Bong  had  passed  away,  the  first  of  the  race,  of  our  broth- 
erhood, whose  redeemed  soul  was  permitted  "to  be  with  the 
Lord."  When  the  sad  intelligence  of  his  death  was  brought 
to  us  earl}^  the  next  morning  I  could  not  repress  my  grief 
that  our  dear  brother  had  died  among  strangers,  no  friend  or 
Christian  brother  being  present  to  speak  words  of  comfort  or 
to  hear  the  last  words  of  testimony  from  his  dying  lips. 

By  the  coroner's  jury  a  verdict  was  rendered  that  Ju  Bong 
had  died  by  a  bullet  fired  by  Chu  Chew  (Frank  lyce). 
From  all  the  testimony  that  could  be  obtained  it  was  estab- 
lished almost  beyond  doubt  that  he  had  been  murdered  by 
the  man  whose  name  he  had  given  with  his  dying  lips  to  the 
policeman,  and  that  the  motive  of  the  murderer  was  .solely 
money.  Another  man  was  implicated.  They  had  escaped 
by  the  back  door.  In  the  back  yard  the  murderer's  hat  was 
found  in  the  morning.  A  pistol  with  an  empty  barrel  was 
found  lying  in  the  rear  room.  And  from  numerous  .similar 
circumstances  it  was  almost  certain  that  Ju  Bong  had  walked 
to  the  front  door  to  blow  a  policeman's  whistle  when  he  was 
shot  by  the  murderer  who  escaped  the  back  way. 

The  body  of  our  lost  brother  was  taken  to  the  parlor 
of  the  undertaker  and  prepared  for  burial.  The  funeral 
services  were  held  in  the  mission  chapel.  It  was  filled 
with  his  lamenting  friends  and  brothers  of  the  mi.ssion  and 
Chinese  Christians  from  other  mis.sions.  Addresses  were 
given  by  two  well-known  missionaries,  Rev.  Dr.  Otis  Gibson 
and  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit,  one  in  Chinese  and  the  other  in 
Finglish.  W'e  laid  away  the  bod}^  of  our  lamented  brother 
in  the  Mountain  View  Cemetery,  more  beautiful  than 
Greenwood.  We  met  the  funeral  expenses  ourselves,  but 
afterwards  when  we  erected  a  becoming  monument  upon 
his  grave  the  Chinese  brothers  of  the  mi.ssion  generously 
contributed  most  of  the  money. 


490     LOOKING  HACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

After  two  or  three  weeks  of  search  by  the  Oakland  police 
the  murderer  was  arrested  in  his  hiding-place  in  Watsonville, 
Monterey  County.  After  a  long  trial  in  the  county  court 
the  jury  was  unanimous  in  the  verdict,  and  Chu  Chew  was 
sentenced  to  Hfe  confinement  in  the  state  prison.  Most 
probably  it  would  have  been  the  death  penalty  had  it  not 
been  that  the  evidence  was  all  circumstantial  except  the 
dying  testimony  of  Ju  Bong,  and  from  the  fact  that  during 
the  trial  it  was  made  certain  that  another  man  was  impli- 
cated and  might  possibly  have  fired  the  fatal  shot. 


CHAPTER    XIvIX. 

In  Memoriam. 

DuRiNCi  the  following  autumn  Rev.  Dr.  A.  M.  Milligan, 
of  Pittsburg,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  came  to  California 
in   search  of  health.     Before  they   left  their  eastern   home 
they  informed  us  that  they  were   going  to  Los  Angeles. 
We  could  not  think  of  his  staying  there  among  strangers 
and  so  determined  to  invite  them  to  come  to  Oakland  and 
make  their  home  with  us  until  his  health  would  be  restored 
if  possible.     The  next  day  after  their  arrival  at  Los  Angeles 
I  was  there  and  found  them  at  the  house  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Swizer.     It  was  not  long  until  they  determined  to  go  home 
with  me.     What  followed  as  long  as  he  remained  in  Cali- 
fornia was  written  and  was  and  is  known  to  all  his  friends 
who  read  the  church  magazines  and  papers,  so  that  it  need 
not  be  written  on  these  pages  except  very  briefly  for  those 
who  were  not  his  cotemporaries.     When  Dr.  Milligan  came 
he  was  hopeful  of  improved  health  and  somewhat  of  recov- 
ery.    As  soon  as  he  was  rested  from  his  long  journey  he 
began  to  ride  out  and  then  to  take  short  walks.     Almost 
daily  he  took  long  "sun  baths"  on  our  rear  piazza.     Mrs. 
Johnston   closely   studied   his   dietetic   needs,   and   he   was 
greatly  pleased  with  his  hygienic  meals.     After  a  while  he 
occasionally  walked  about  a  block  to  see  how  much  he  had 
gained  in   weight,   and   was  greatly  encouraged   when  he 
found  it  increased  slowly.     He  read   little  and  wrote  less, 
but  always  conversed  freely  and  often  cheerfully.     He  was 
good  company,  and  he  and  Mrs.  Milligan  added  much  to 

(491) 


492  I^OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   .SUNSET   LAND. 

the  happiness  of  our  family.  He  rareh'  felt  able  to  attend 
the  religious  services  on  Sabbath.  One  day  when  he  was 
present  I  preached  on  the  words  of  our  lyOrd  to  the  great 
apostle:  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  Paul."  After  we  were  at  home 
he  said:  "That  was  all  for  me."  One  evening  when  he 
felt  sufficiently  strong,  by  the  help  of  two  Chinese  Chris- 
tians he  went  with  us  to  the  mission  about  a  block  and  a 
half  distant.  I  had  asked  him  to  give  a  brief  address  to 
the  Chinese.  Most  of  the  Christians  were  present.  He 
spoke  in  the  sitting  posture  and  with  ease  and  apparent 
delight. 

As  the  winter  months  or  the  rainy  season  came  on  his 
health  was  not  so  good  or  did  not  continue  to  improve,  and 
his  friends  in  Pittsburg  wrote  and  urged  him  to  go  farther 
south.  He  followed  their  advice  and  went  to  I^os  Gatos, 
a  town  at  the  base  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains  in  Santa 
Clara  County.  Here  he  lodged  with  a  Presbyterian  pastor 
who  in  youth  had  been  a  member  of  the  Craftsbury  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Congregation.  His  health  declined  rapidly 
w^hile  there.  Then  they  went  to  be  the  guests  of  the  family 
of  John  M.  Flemming  near  San  Jose,  once  a  Covenanter 
elder  in  New  York.  Here  also  he  steadily  declined  in  health. 
The  first  time  I  vi.sited  him  there  I  saw  a  great  change  in 
his  condition  for  the  "w^orse.  He  suffered  much  pain  and 
had  lost  his  appetite  and  could  receive  almost  no  food.  Mr. 
Flemming  brought  him  back  to  our  house.  I  think  he  had 
lost  hope  of  recovery.  His  greatest  desire  now  was  to  be 
able  to  reach  home  that  he  might  die  among  his  friends. 
By  his  permission  I  called  in  Rev.  Dr.  Wythe,  M.  D.,  who 
gave  him  no  reason  to  hope  for  recovery,  but  he  hoped  that 
he  might  be  able  to  endure  the  journey  home.  At  this 
time  he  was  no  more  able  to  .sit  up  in  his  chair,  and  the 
only  way  he  could  hope  to  make  the  journey  almost  acro.ss 
the  continent  would  be  on  his  bed.     As  Mrs.  Milligan  could 


A.     M.     MiLLIGAN,     D.     D, 


IN    MEMORIAM.  493 

not  go  alone  with  liim,  at  their  request  I  agreed  to  accom- 
pany them.  Without  delay  it  was  arranged  that  we  would 
start  on  the  journey  as  soon  as  the  Sabbath  was  over.  It 
was  a  sad  Sabbath  day.  On  Monday  we  carried  him  into 
a  carriage,  laid  him  down  in  a  reclining  posture,  carried 
him  into  the  Pullman  sleeper  and  laid  him  upon  a  bed  in 
the  drawing-room  which  I  had  engaged  for  them  through 
the  entire  journey.  Over  mountains  and  plains  two  nights 
and  a  day  brought  us  to  Ogden.  He  ate  little  or  nothing, 
suifered  pain  more  or  less,  was  almost  helpless  except  in 
the  use  of  his  arms,  conversed  little,  but  slept  tolerably 
well.  All  the  while  however  he  was  evidently  steadily 
drawing  nearer  the  gates  of  death.  As  we  had  the  room 
for  exclusive  use  we  had  opportunity  for  Bible  reading, 
religious  conversation,  and  prayer.  His  anxiety  to  reach 
home  in  time  to  die  was  freely  expressed,  and  I  think  he 
did  not  lose  hope  until  after  we  passed  Ogden.  Here  we 
had  to  change  sleepers.  With  much  difficulty  two  strong 
men  carried  him  into  the  drawing-room  of  a  Union  Pacific 
sleeper.  The  change  was  a  .severe  ordeal.  It  was  followed 
by  increased  pain  and  exhaustion.  Erelong  he  fell  into 
an  unconscious  (comatose)  condition  which  continued  until 
toward  midnight  when  he  peacefully  and  silently  fell  asleep 
in  Jesus.  All  through  the  anxious  hours  and  days  of  that 
journey  thus  far  passed  we  sat  at  his  bedside  to  care  for 
him,  to  read  the  Bible  to  him,  to  talk  and  to  pray  and  to 
help  to  fix  the  eye  of  the  dying  Christian  upon  the  Lamb 
of  God.  And  now  when  the  respiration  ceased,  when  pul- 
sation was  no  more,  and  when  we  knew  that  the  soul  had 
gone  to  be  with  the  lyord,  and  when  all  was  quiet  save  the 
noise  of  our  train,  we  again  bowed  the  knee  in  supplication 
for  ourselves,  for  friends  in  the  east,  and  especially  for  poor 
Mrs.  Milligan  in  the  hour  of  her  deep  sorrow.  I  had 
watched   that   noble  woman  and  faithful  wife  all  the  time 


494  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

they  were  with  us  to  admire  her  loving  and  tender  and 
constant  care  for  her  husband.  Never  w^as  there  a  more 
dutiful  wife.  Now  she  w^as  bereft.  Now  she  was  a  widow 
and  far  from  home.  It  was  midnight.  We  were  near 
Rock  Springs,  a  little  east  of  the  Wyoming  western  border. 
I  went  out  to  a  kind  Christian  man  who  had  shown  sym- 
pathy with  us  in  our  anxiety,  and  told  him  of  the  death  of 
our  friend.  He  offered  his  help  in  caring  for  the  dead  body. 
Insisting  on  Mrs.  Milligan  trying  to  rest  until  morning,  we 
informed  the  conductor  of  the  death  of  the  sick  man.  Know- 
ing the  law  of  the  trains,  that  in  case  of  a  death  the  body 
must  be  taken  off  at  the  first  suitable  station,  I  besought  the 
conductor  to  permit  us  to  take  it  on  to  Laramie  or  Cheyenne 
when  it  would  be  daylight,  and  because  I  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  Mrs.  Milligan  being  put  off  at  some  little  station 
in  the  mountains  in  the  dead  of  the  night.  He  wired  to  the 
officer  at  Cheyenne  who,  learning  that  the  man  had  not 
died  from  an}^  contagious  disease,  gave  permission  to  take 
the  body  on  to  Cheyenne  where  it  could  be  embalmed.  On 
arrival,  the  bodj*  was  carried  directly  to  Governor  Warren's 
embalming  rooms.  Here  it  lay  until  prepared  and  ready  for 
burial  and  until  the  coming  of  Rev.  J.  S.  T.  Milligan  to 
whom  we  had  sent  the  sad  intelligence  and  who  came  to 
meet  us.  Taking  the  remains  with  us  we  passed  on  our  sad 
journey  and  stopped  in  Omaha  over  Sabbath.  Thence  we 
journeyed  to  Kansas  City  and  St.  Louis  where  friends  met  us 
and  kindl)'  detained  us  for  breakfast  with  the  widow  of  Rev. 
James  Wallace  whose  former  husband.  Professor  Trumbull, 
was  an  uncle  of  Dr.  Milligan.  B3-  the  Pan  Handle  railroad 
we  reached  Pittsburg  where  the  arrangements  had  all  been 
made  for  the  burial  the  day  after  our  expected  arrival.  This 
was  followed  by  a  post-mortem  examination  which  resulted 
in  the  decision  that  the  fatal  cause  was  "Addison's  disease 
of  the  kidneys."  Perhaps  it  was;  but  some  present  were 
not  satisfied  with  the  decision. 


IN    MKMORIAM.  495 

At  the  church  there  was  a  very  large  concourse  of  people. 
Numerous  beautiful  memorial  addresses  were  given  by  min- 
isters representing  the  various  churches.  Mrs.  Milligan  had 
requested  Dr.  McAlHster,  who  had  charge  of  the  memorial 
services,  to  ask  me  to  speak  and  give  a  brief  sketch  of  Dr. 
Milligan' s  .sickness  in  California  and  of  his  last  days  and 
last  hours.  As  I  did  not  know  of  her  request  until  a  short 
time  before  I  was  expected  to  speak,  and  as  I  knew  my  total 
inability  to  do  well  what  I  should  do,  I  spoke  under  great 
embarrassment  and  with  a  humiliating  .sense  of  my  weak- 
ness in  the  presence  of  so  many  of  the  friends  of  the  de- 
parted who  were  anxious,  no  doubt,  to  hear  what  could  not 
be  learned  from  any  other.  A  very  large  procession  followed 
the  remains  to  their  last  resting-place  in  the  Allegheny  Belle- 
view  cemetery.  In  less  than  a  year  afterwards  the  body  of 
his  most  intimate  friend  and  brother.  Dr.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane, 
was  buried  near  the  same  spot.  Over  both  graves  are  now 
appropriate  monuments  placed  bj^  those  who  loved  them 
most.  And  the  whole  church  mourns  the  early  death  of 
two  useful,  beloved,  and  honored  servants  of  Christ.  If  any 
one  wishes  to  read  what  was  subsequently  written  bj^  this 
pen  soon  after  Dr.  Milligan 's  death,  he  will  find  it  in  the 
memorial  volume  published  by  Mrs.  Milligan. 

After  the  burial  I  came  to  Belle-Centre,  Ohio,  to  visit  my 
sister  and  the  other  friends  in  the  vicinity  and  remained 
with  her  until  the  time  of  Synod  which  met  this  year,  1S85, 
at  Morning  Sun,  Iowa.  One  of  the  most  important  duties 
imposed  upon  me  by  the  moderator  was  the  preparation  of 
the  report  of  Synod's  committee  in  the  death  of  Dr.  Milli- 
gan. As  chairman  of  the  committee  I  prepared  it  with 
special  care.  It  was  adopted  in  committee  and  afterwards 
by  Synod  without  any  change  whatever.  It  formed  a  part 
of  the  memorial  volume  published  afterwards  by  Mrs.  Milli- 
gan and  other  friends. 


496  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

It  was  ray  "hap"  to  be  entertained  during  vSynod  in  the 
famih-  of  Elder  Mcllhinney,  son  of  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Sharon  congregation  whose  house  of  worship  was  in  the 
neighborhood.  One  of  the  other  guests  was  Elder  Thomas 
Walker,  the  delegate  from  the  session  of  the  second  Phila- 
delphia congregation,  Rev.  S.  O.  Wylie,  D.  D.,  pastor. 
Though  I  had  often  been  in  Philadelphia  I  never  before  had 
a  favorable  opportunity  to  form  his  acquaintance.  As  he 
was  l)orn  across  the  water,  and  as  he  was  elder  in  a  congre- 
gation that  had  always  fought  against  having  deacons  in 
the  church,  perhaps  I  was  disposed  to  study  him  a  little 
before  I  would  "take  to  him."  Such  is  fallen  human  nature- 
Gradually  he  grew  in  my  estimation  and  so  won  my  affec- 
tions that  before  Synod  adjourned  there  was  no  one  in  our 
company  of  guests  whose  fellowship  was  so  pleasant  to  me. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  a  friendship  that  in  later  3'ears 
ripened  into  a  brotherh'  love  that  is  deathless. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  our  host,  Mr.  Mcllhinney,  took  a 
wagon-load  of  us  some  miles  over  the  country  to  the  old 
barn  of  his  uncle  and  the  hickor}-  grove  adjacent  in  which  I 
had  preached  two  Sabbaths  nearly  thirt3--five  3-ears  before  or 
shortly  after  my  licensure.  The  barn  was  falling  into  decay; 
the  body  of  the  preacher  had  lost  its  j^outhful  vigor.  The 
trees  had  grown  larger  and  would  continue  their  }-outh 
indefiniteh'.  My  mind  had  grown  with  the  trees;  and 
when  the)"  shall  have  perished  the  immortal  part  will  have 
only  begun  the  life  everlasting. 

As  soon  as  Synod  adjourned  I  was  on  my  way  home.  I 
reached  Ogden  and  Salt  Lake  Cit}'  before  the  Sabbath  and 
rested  with  my  friend,  Rev.  Dr.  McNiece;  until  Monday,  in 
due  time  after  which  I  was  once  more  at  home  to  unite  with 
the  loved  ones  in  thanksgiving  to  God. 


CHAPTER  L.     • 

Home  Work  Resumed. 

Ju  Sing,  the  helper  in  the  mission,  having  gone  to  New 
York,  it  became  necessary  to  procure  another.  After  a 
while  we  obtained  the  services  of  Ju  Guy.  He  was  one  of 
the  earliest  of  the  baptized  converts  and  one  of  the  best 
English  scholars.  He  had  recentlj^  returned  from  a  protracted 
visit  to  China  where  he  had  obtained  much  information  that 
would  qualify  him  for  his  work  as  a  helper.  He  lacked 
some  of  the  desirable  elements  of  a  model  native  helper,  to 
which  I  was  not  blind,  but  as  he  was  the  most  intellectual 
and  the  best  scholar  of  all  tlie  Christians  of  the  mission  I 
thought  it  well  to  employ  him  and  endeavor  to  educate  him 
while  acting  as  helper.  Accordingly  I  gave  him  lessons 
every  day  in  language  and  the  English  branches,  also  in  the 
Bible  and  systematic  truth.  He  memorized  the  shorter  cat- 
echism with  ease,  committing  ever}^  day  a  certain  number  of 
answers  together  with  the  proof  texts.  Then  the  recited 
answers  were  examined  critically  and  doctrinally  so  that  he 
might  understand  clearly  the  truths  declared.  This  method, 
by  way  of  question  and  answer,  was  continued  all  through 
this  most  perfect  of  all  the  Westminster  standards.  This 
done,  we  next  took  irp  our  Reformed  Presbyterian  testimony. 
Each  chapter,  or  a  portion  of  it  if  large,  was  first  read  as  a 
school  reading  lesson  and  cursorily  explained.  Then  the 
scholar  studied  it  until  the  next  day  when  it  was  recited  or 
examined  by  way  of  question  and  answer.  Then  the  teacher 
hoped    that  when  the  whole    book  would    be  mastered    he 

32  (497) 


498      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE)  SUNSET  LAND. 

would  have  a  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God 
sufficient  to  be  a  safe  teacher  of  others.     I  never  saw  any 
one  drink   in  so  rapidly  the  truth  of  the  Bible.     And    he 
seemed  to  have  at* least  an  intellectual  delight  in  the  study 
of  the  doctrinal  truth.     The  teacher,  also,  had  delight  in  the 
work    as   he  saw   how  a ,  mind  not  long  released  from  the 
bondage  of  pagan  idolatr>^  delighted  in  the  study  of  divine 
truth.     True,  the  class  was  not  large,  and  I  was  not  very 
fearful  that  the  professors  of  the  Allegheny  Seminary  would 
be  jealous  of  me  as  a  rival  intending  to  start  a  new  Theolog- 
ical Seminary  on  the  Pacific  Coast.     Nor  did  I  tire  with  my 
theological  class  (!),  for  I  hoped  that  while  helping  in  the 
mission  he  might  be  trained  to  become  an  excellent  native 
helper  in  China  some  day;  for  I  had  been  hoping  and  labor- 
ing and  praying  that  the  church  would  inaugurate  a  foreign 
mission  in  China  and  that  after  a  while  we  would  be  able  to 
send  our  missionaries  there  a  qualified  native  helper.     But 
in  an  evil  hour  the  arch-enemy  of  missions  sought  to  ruin 
ours.     His  attack  was  upon  the  one  for  whom  I  had  done  so 
much  and  on  whom  of  late  our  hope  had  been  set.     B}'  some 
of  the  Christians  he  was  suspected  of  immoral  conduct  that 
if  known  would  harm  the  mission  and  require  his  dismissal 
as  helper.     By  some  of  the  others  he  was  informed  of  this 
and  left  the  mission  without  dela)^     I  knew  nothing  of  it 
until  after  he  had  departed.     It  was  a  heavy  blow  against 
the  mission.     The  enemy  had  gained  his  point.     How  cun- 
ning are  his  devices!     I  studied  to  be  reconciled  to  the  will 
of  the  Master  whose  wisdom  is  supreme;  and  perhaps  what 
seemed  to  us  only  evil  was  overruled  for  good.     But  I  was 
discouraged.       Other   discouragements   followed    and    they 
would  have  weakened  our  hands  altogether  if  we  had  not 
believed  that  our  work  was  the  very  work  the  compassionate 
Master  would  have  us  do.     And  so  we  tried  hard  to  perse- 
vere in  it  in  reliance  upon  the  promises. 


HOME    WORK    RESUMEIX  '     499 

In  the  progress  of  the  work  we  found  it  desirable  to  change 
again  the  location  of  the  mission.  At  that  time  into  what 
was  called  "Chinatown"  a  large  number  of  the  idolaters 
had  gathered,  some  in  business  but  mostly  in  lodging- 
houses.  These  were  occupied  largely  by  laborers  employed 
elsewhere  during  the  day  or  by  those  out  of  employment 
The  number  of  this  class  had  been  increasing  ever  since  the 
successful  efforts  all  over  the  state  to  "boycott"  all  employers 
of  Chinese  in  manufacturing  establishments.  The  result  was 
the  crowding  of  the  unemployed  into  the  Chinatowns  of  the 
other  cities  besides  San  Francisco.  To  reach  this  class,  if 
possible,  and  for  the  convenience  of  the  majority  of  the 
Christians  and  others  already  in  the  mission,  we  rented  a 
hall,  with  rear  rooms,  located  adjacent  to  the  Chinese  quar- 
ters. The  removal  hither  removed  also  our  work  quite  a 
distance  from  our  residence;  but  as  it  was  for  the  interest  of 
the  mission  we  were  satisfied.  Besides  those  who  had  been 
in  the  mission  .schools  on  Market  Street,  new  scholars  entered 
and  increased  the  number  of  attendants.  Besides  our  own 
family  it  was  necessary  to  employ  two  young  lady  teachers 
besides  the  Chinese  helper. 

As  soon  as  the  rainy  season  was  over  we  tried  a  new 
method  of  reaching  the  heathen  by  the  Gospel.  If  they 
would  not  come  to  our  open  chapel  to  hear  the  glad  tidings, 
we  would  carry  the  Gospel  to  them.  Ju  Guy  (for  this  was 
before  his  departure)  went  with  me  to  notify  the  people  of 
our  change  and  to  invite  them  to  come  to  hear  about  the  '  'Jesus 
religion."  This  he  did  several  times  and  distributed  cards  of 
invitation  and  "talked  the  Gospel"  to  any  who  would  listen 
to  it.  Yet  few  came.  So  we  resolved  to  take  Chinatown  by 
violence,  /.  e.  by  street  preaching.  In  the  chapel  I  preached 
at  II  to  both  Americans  and  Chinese,  whether  converted 
or  unconverted,  using  an  interpreter  as  circumstances  indi- 
cated.    This  service  was  followed  bv  Bible  lessons  and  such 


500      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

as  the  untavight  needed.  At  the  close  of  these  exercises  in 
the  chapel,  taking  with  me  as  man}^  of  the  converts  as  could 
go,  each  one  armed  with  a  Psalm-book,  or  taking  two  or 
three  canvas-printed  Psalms  in  either  language,  we  began 
our  sidewalk  meeting  by  singing  a  Psalm.  In  a  few  min- 
utes the  sidewalk  would  be  full  of  Chinese  coming  quietly 
on  hearing  the  .singing.  After  prayer  in  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage the  Gospel  was  preached  in  some  form,  either  by  the 
missionary  through  the  interpreter  or  by  some  invited 
Chinese  helper  or  lay  preacher,  and  frequently  by  an  invited 
missionary.  Sometimes  several  well-qualified  persons  would 
give  short  addresses.  These  were  always  followed  by  prayer 
and  by  the  distribution  of  Chinese  tracts  and  sometimes  by 
English  leaflets,  for  some  of  the  people  had  learned  to  read 
the  language. 

What  good  resulted  from  these  meetings  we  did  not  know 
nor  did  we  pause  to  inquire  or  wait  to  see.  Ours  was  to 
obey  Him  who  said  :  Preach  the  Gospel  to  ever}'  creature. 
He  who  waits  to  find  out  "what  good  it  will  do"  before  he 
acts  when  God  commands,  will  never  do  much.  The  sower 
who  will  withhold  the  seed  until  he  has  the  answer  to  his 
question.  Will  it  produce  a  crop?  will  never  sow  his  grain. 
One  design  of  our  street  meetings  was  to  teach  the  ignorant, 
to  awaken  the  careless,  and  to  offer  Christ  and  his  salvation 
to  the  lost.  And  though  we  could  not  foresee  the  result  it 
was  pleasant  to  see  that  frequently  when  some  Chinese 
speaker  was  addressing  the  heathen  man}-  of  them  gave  close 
attention  and  often  manifested  great  delight.  They  may 
have  been  of  that  class  mentioned  b)^  the  great  Teacher  who 
"hear  the  Word  and  anon  with  jo}-  receive  it"  but  who  by 
and  by  are  offended;  but  this  was  not  ours  to  wait  to  .see. 
Another  design  of  our  meetings  was  to  tr}'  to  allure  the 
pagans  of  Chinatown  into  our  mission  which  was  just  around 
the  street  corner.     But  as  far  as  we  knew  few  ever  came. 


HOME    WORK    RESUMED.  501 

The  evil  one  may  have  said  to  them,  "Don't  be  caught  with 
chaff."  More  probably  they  themselves  thought:  "There 
is  no  money  in  it."  Or  others  may  have  said:  "Let  them 
repeal  their  wicked  laws  against  us  Chinese  and  then  we  will 
listen  to  what  they  have  to  say  about  the  'Jesus  religion.'  " 
During  all  the  years  of  our  labors  in  the  mission  I  was 
anxious  for  the  conversion  of  individual  Chinese.  It  would 
be  folly  to  deny  that  in  the  case  of  many  hopeful  3^oung  men 
who  continued  so  long  with  us  that  I  became  aflfectionatel}' 
attached  to  them.  I  "travailed  in  birth  again  until  Christ 
might  be  formed  in  them;"  and  though  I  had  no  right  to 
expect  eminent  success  in  "winning  souls  to  Christ,"  yet  I 
knew  that  I  often  experienced  sadness  of  heart  because  of 
disappointment.  It  was  not  mine  to  be  made  joyous  in  see- 
ing the  saved  ones  "flocking  as  doves  to  their  windows;" 
and  yet  all  through  these  5'ears  of  anxious  effort  there  were 
some  evidences  that  we  were  approved  of  God!  The  first 
baptism  of  converts  occurred  in  June,  1878,  or  about  two  and 
a  half  3'ears  after  we  opened  our  mission  chapel.  From  time 
to  time  during  all  the  subsequent  years  of  our  continuance 
in  the  work  others  were  baptized  until  the  number  amounted 
to  thirtj-four.  But  the  amount  of  good  resulting  ma}'  not 
be  limited  to  this  numl)er.  Many  others  were  weaned  Irom 
idols;  some  of  these  became  believers  in  Christianity  and 
received  its  truths  as  divine  but  did  not  evince  saving  faith 
in  Christ.  Besides,  man}-  who  received  much  if  not  nearly 
all  their  knowledge  of  Bible  truths  and  of  the  wa)'  of  salva- 
tion in  our  mission,  subsequently  made  their  profession  of 
faith  in  the  mission  of  other  churches.  Could  we  wonder  ? 
We  had  no  church  organization  here  and  they  knew 
how  feeble  a  folk  Covenanters  were.  Some  of  the  most 
promising  and  excellent  Chinese  Christians  now  in  other 
denominations  owe  nearly  all  their  attainments  to  the  Cov- 
enanter mission.     Dea  Woo,  now  a  successful  merchant , in 


502  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

San  .  Francisco  and  a  very  intelligent  Congregationalist, 
began  to  learn  English  and  to  hear  of  Christ  with  us  and 
continued  long  with  us.  Lee  Keet,  one  of  the  most  lovely 
5^oung  men  I  have  ever  known,  was  with  us  for  several 
3'ears,  and  we  thought  he  was  almost  a  Christian.  But  he 
procrastinated.  His  heart  was  not  touched  by  the  convinc- 
ing and  converting  Spirit  of  God.  Now,  after  years  of  halt- 
ing, his  name  is  enrolled  among  the  disciples  of  Christ  in 
San  Francisco.  Was  our  labor  lost  because  he  followed  not 
with  us  ?  Lee  To,  probabl}'  as  lovely  by  nature  as  the  dis- 
ciple who  lay  on  Jesus'  bosom,  and  almost  remarkable  for 
his  diligence  in  searching  the  Scriptures,  was  with  us  and 
studied  the  Bible  with  me  for  j^ears,  and  whom  I  regarded 
as  a  probable  convert,  in  his  freedom  from  guile  was  "stolen 
from  us"  by  some  who  saw  his  superior  character  and  attain- 
ments. After  I  had  resigned  the  mission  he  was  received  by 
immersion  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Baptist  Church.  After 
pursuing  studies  a  while  under  Rev.  Dr.  Hartwell  he  labored 
some  time  in  China  as  a  native  helper.  After  his  return  he 
was  employed  a  few  months  in  the  R.  P.  Mission,  then  in 
Portland,  Or.     He  is  now  at  Spokane,  Wash. 

There  is,  however,  a  dark  page  in  this  histor3\  Among 
the  numerous  baptized  converts  some  afterwards  made  ship- 
wreck of  the  faith.  One  became  offended  at  some  of  the 
brethren  and  abandoned  the  flock.  Two  or  three  in  after 
years  proved  to  be  weak  disciples  or  fell  into  the  snare  of 
the  world  and  lost  their  first  love.  And  two  or  three  fell 
into  temptation  and  have  not  manifested  genuine  repentance. 
Whether  these  or  any  of  them  were  and  are  yet  the  children 
of  God  whose  purpose  it  is  to  bring  them  to  repentance  and 
back  to  Christ,  or  whether  they  and  those  who  received  them 
to  baptism  were  deceived  as  to  their  heart  conversion,  is  not 
ours  to  know  certainly.  "The  day  will  reveal  it."  It  is 
probable,   however,    that   among  the   Chinese  who  profess 


HOME   WORK    RESUMED.  503 

faith  in  Christ  there  are  fewer  false  professors  in  proportion 
than  there  are  among  American  church-members.  Besides, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  among  all  whom  in  any  denomi- 
nation I  have  known  to  become  backsliders  I  have  never 
known  one  to  return  to  idolatry.  Nor  have  I  ever  known 
one  to  become  an  opium  smoker  or  a  user  of  strong  drink. 
And  let  it  be  remembered  that  in  California  these  as  well  as 
other  Christians  are  exposed  to  far  greater  temptations  than 
others  in  the  east.  He  must  be  a  strong  man  who  can  live 
in  San  Francisco  or  Oakland  and  not  fall  before  his  many 
foes  such  as  abound  in  no  other  place. 

Once  more:  To  weigh  well  the  probable  amount  of  good 
resulting  from  missionary  efforts  we  must  not  forget  that 
many  Chinese  who  were  baptized  and  sooner  or  later 
departed  from  Oakland  went  to  other  places  to  be  thrown 
among  other  people  who  were  or  are  benefited  or  brought  to 
Christ.  Pleasant  to  think  of  are  several  instances  of  which 
mention  might  be  made  if  this  were  the  design  of  this  writ- 
ing. Some  went  back  to  China  to  be  as  lights  shining  in  a 
dark  place.  One  precious  young  Christian  whom  we  were 
so  sorry  to  lose,  went  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  has  long 
been  a  witness  for  Christ  among  his  own  people  there.  One 
whose  integrity  and  zeal  are  well  known  among  his  brethren 
went  to  his  native(/2ity  and  labored  several  years  as  a  self- 
appointed  private  or  lay  missionary  among  his  fellow  towns- 
men and,  being  too  poor  to  remain  longer  and  wishing  to  be 
again  with  his  brethren  in  Oakland,  endeavored  to  return. 
But  as  he  would  not,  even  if  he  could,  bribe  the  ofiicials  of 
the  custom-house  to  land  him  in  San  Francisco,  he  went  by 
the  Canadian  Pacific  to  Montreal  where  he  remains  yet  not 
able  to  get  over  the  boundary  line  except  by  stealth,  which 
he  is  too  conscientious  to  do.  He  is  doing  good  there  no 
doubt.  Perhaps  there  are  some  of  God's  elect  in  Montreal 
whom  he  may  savingly  affect. 


504  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

In  an  evil  hour  the  old  enemy  of  Christ  and  of  his  church 
made  an  assault  upon  her  and  sought  to  break  up  the  work 
in  Oakland.  The  organized  congregation  was  small  at  first. 
Several  Covenanters  who  came  afterwards  were  poor  and  did 
not  remain  long.  John  Gillies,  formerly  of  Vermont,  and 
who  resided  in  Sacramento  but  whose  membership  was  with 
us  and  who  was  with  us  during  two  communion  seasons  and 
giving  us  great  joy  of  fellowship,  was  of  a  ripe  old  age  and 
soon  after  the  second  communion  passed  over  to  the  higher 
fellowship.  Ju  Sing,  the  Chinese  elder,  had  gone  to  New 
York.  John  Rice,  the  other  elder,  through  the  influence  of 
enemies  of  the  mission  became  disaffected  and  ceased  to 
attend,  and  taking  his  family  with  him  attended  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church.  Then  the  Oakland  congregation 
became  disorganized  as  there  were  no  elders  to  form  a  ses- 
sion. I  reported  the  disorganization  to  the  Board.  The 
mission,  however,  continued  as  before,  the  only  difference 
being  in  this,  that  the  missionaries  had  to  endure  the  suffer- 
ings caused  by  the  tongue  of  slander.  Perhaps  the  Divine 
Chastiser  knew  that  it  was  needed.  Thus  it  was  to  them  a 
merciful  visitation. 

For  several  years  in  my  correspondence  with  the  Board  I 
endeavored  to  persuade  them  to  send  a  young  man,  a  theo- 
logical student  or  a  licentiate,  who  might  be  an  assistant  in 
the  mission,  study  the  Chinese  language,  and  thus  be  pre- 
pared either  to  take  my  place  in  the  mission  in  Oakland  or 
to  go  to  China  as  a  foreign  missionary.  I  knew  that  in  my 
feeble  health  I  could  not  continue  in  the  work  much  longer 
and  that  a  successor  would  be  needed.  I  knew  that  I  was 
not  a  popular  preacher  such  as  might  be  desired  by  the 
American  Covenanters  and  such  as  might  be  necessary  to 
build  up  a  congregation  in  Oakland.  But  the  Board  always 
declined  to  take  any  action  in  the  matter.  I  saw  that  unless 
I  would  do  something  more  I  would  neither  receive  help  nor 


HOMK   WORK    RE.SUMKD.  505 

would  any  one  be  sent  to  the  mission  to  be  in  preparation  for 
the  foreign  field.  I  was  so  anxious  for  this,  believing  it  was 
the  very  work  of  foreign  missions  in  which  the  church  should 
engage  as  soon  as  possible,  I  determined  to  embrace  the  first 
opportunity  to  make  it  almost  compulsory  for  the  Board  to 
carry  out  my  plans.  I  saw  only  one  wa^',  however,  by 
which  it  could  be  done.  I  went  to  the  meeting  of  Synod 
that  year  in  Newburg,  New  York.  During  its  sessions, 
probably  it  was  in  the  discussions  on  the  report  of  the  Board, 
or  of  the  Committee  on  Missions,  such  unjust  things  were 
said  about  the  Oakland  mission  and  the  missionary  by  some 
members  of  Synod,  notably  by  an  elder  and  by  a  minister 
both  of  whom  not  long  afterwards  went  over  to  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  that  I  resolved  to  offer  my  resignation  to  the 
Board  at  its  next  session.  Under  the  impulse  of  the  moment 
I  felt  that  if  after  all  I  had  done  in  good  faith  for  the  mission 
and  when  I  was  conscious  of  rectitude — if  I  must  yet  be 
submitted  to  suspicion  of  wrong-doing  and  be  a  victim  of  the 
tongue  of  .slander,  the  sooner  I  can  retire  and  be  permitted 
to  enjoy  peace  the  better.  I  knew  I  had  some  friends  in 
Synod  but  they  seemed  few,  and  I  was  sad,  and  in  this 
moment  of  sadness  I  determined  to  offer  my  resignation. 
This  I  did  soon  after  my  return  home  and  probably  at  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Board  after  Synod.  Mj'-  resignation  was 
positive  and  accompanied  by  several  reasons.  I  can  now 
remember  only  two  or  three  of  them: 

I .  I  had  been  doing  excessive  work  in  the  mission  under 
unfavorable  circumstances  so  long  mj^  health  was  becoming 
feeble.  I  think  it  was  owing  to  late  hours  in  the  night 
school  and  in  its  vitiated  atmosphere  during  so  manj-  years, 
that  I  had  had  two  attacks  of  pneumonia,  one  very  serious, 
leaving  disease  of  the  bronchia  from  which  I  have  never 
recovered.  And  I  thought  that  I  could  not  expect  long  life 
unless  I  could  get  out  of  the  mission. 


5Q6  I.OOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSEIT    LAND. 

2.  I  hoped  that  if  the  Board  would  send  a  young  man  of 
proper  qualifications  he  might  be  the  means  of  building  up 
a  Reformed  Presbyterian  congregation  in  Oakland,  and 
where  we  and  other  Covenanters  could  reside  in  a  winterless 
climate  and  enjoy  the  ordinances  also. 

3.  And,  especially,  because  I  hoped  that  the  appointment 
of  a  young  man,  if  possessed  of  the  proper  qualifications, 
would  prepare  the  waj^  for  and  result  in  the  inauguration  of 
a  foreign  mission  in  China. 

Thus  my  resignation  was  of  necessity  not  of  choice,  for  if 
it  could  have  continued  consistent  with  duty  I  would  gladly 
have  labored  among  the  Chinese  to  the  end.  I  never  was 
tired  of  the  work. 

My  resignation  was  accepted  but  accompanied  by  the 
request  that  I  would  continue  in  charge  of  the  mission  until 
a  successor  could  be  found  and  come  to  relieve  me.  After  a 
while  licentiate  James  Patton  was  appointed.  We  were  not 
acquainted,  but  as  he  had  received  a  call  to  Cincinnati  con- 
gregation he  wrote  me  asking  my  advice.  I  replied  and 
gave  him  information  as  to  the  mission  and  urged  him  to 
come  to  Oakland,  rather  than  to  go  to  Cincinnati.  He 
accepted  the  appointment  to  Oakland,  married  a  young  wife 
who  had  the  good  qualities  of  a  good  missionary',  and  then 
came  on  to  take  charge  of  the  work.  After  the  first  Sabbath 
I  passed  all  over  into  his  hands,  promising  whatever  help 
he  might  at  an)'  time  need  and  request.  Our  unmarried 
daughter,  who  had  always  been  a  devoted  and  acceptable 
missionary,  was  retained  for  a  time  as  a  teacher,  and  the  work 
went  on  much  as  before.  The  new  missionary  employed  a 
teacher  and  began  the  stud)-  of  the  Chinese  language,  but 
discontiiuxed  it  at  the  end  of  one  month.  His  reasons  may 
have  been  good,  but  his  abandoning  the  study  indicated  that 
the  hope  that  my  successor  might  develop  into  a  foreign 
missionary,  would  be  disappointed. 


CHAPTER    LI. 

Southern  Mission.s  Visited. 

For  many  long  years  I  had  cherished  the  hope  that  some 
day  I  might  be  permitted  to  visit  the  missions  in  the  south 
and  see  the  condition  of  the  freedmen  and  the  progress  of  the 
work  done  for  their  elevation.  Not  long  after  my  release 
from  my  post  in  Oakland  the  opportunit}'  came.  It  was 
the  spring  before  the  great  National  Reform  Conference  in 
Pittsburg.  My  plan  was  to  take  a  tour  through  the  south, 
visiting  as  many  missions  and  schools  for  freedmen  as  possi- 
ble including  especialh'  our  own  at  Selma,  Alabama.  When 
I  was  contemplating  the  missionary'  tour  which  I  knew 
would  be  expensive,  I  wrote  to  the  Philadelphia  C/irisfia)i 
Statesman  offering  to  write  weekl}'  letters  for  its  columns 
during  my  tour  provided  the  editors  would  give  me  a  fair 
remuneration.  They  plead  poverty.  As  from  the  beginning 
of  that  able  journal  I  had  been  writing  frequent  letters  for  its 
columns  and  had  never  received  a  dollar  for  them,  I  felt 
excused  for  my  act  of  begging.  Indeed,  as  I  had  never 
received  a  dollar  for  anything  I  had  ever  written  for  the 
press,  and  as  now  for  the  first  time  I  had  hoped  for  some 
remiuieration  for  hard  work,  I  was  somewhat  disappointed 
perhaps.  But  I  went,  nevertheless,  and  I  was  free  to  go  and 
.see  and  hear  and  be  happ}'  in  learning  so  much  that  I  had 
long  wanted  to  know,  and  all  without  needing  to  use  pencil 
or  pen  for  anybody.  I  was  a  freeman  among  the  frecdnioi. 
Receiving  from  Rev.  Dr.  vStrieby,  secretar}-  of  the  American 
Mi.S-sionary  Association,  letters  of  introduction  to  the  princi- 

(507) 


5o^  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LANd. 

pals  of  their  leading  institutions  in  the  south,  I  bade  good-by 
to  the  loved  ones  of  home  and  set  my  face  towards  the  south 
and  the  east  via.  the  Sunset  Route.  At  Los  Angeles  I 
stopped  over  one  day  to  see  good  Covenanter  friends.  Mr. 
John  A.  McKee  and  family,  and  his  son  J.  R.  McKee,  from 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  were  at  Pasadena  in  search  of 
health.  It  was  good  to  see  good  and  live  Covenanters  on 
California  soil;  and  again  I  thought,  Can  such  seed  grow  in 
such  soil? 

From  Los  Angeles  I  passed  on  through  Yuma,  said  to  be 
the  hottest  spot  in  the  United  States,  and  through  the  barren 
wastes  and  mountains  of  Arizona  and  into  Texas  to  turn 
aside  to  spend  the  Sabbath  in  Galveston.  Here  I  rested  at 
a  hotel  whose  servants  used  to  be  slaves;  now  all  were  free. 
One  object  of  my  visit  to  this  old  city  was  to  see  my  Chinese 
Covenanter  brother,  Ju  Hing,  who  was  there  in  business. 
The  women  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  had  a  large 
Chinese  Sabbath-school.  Ju  Hing  was  their  helper  and 
interpreter.  He  had  told  them  that  his  "old  pastor"  was 
coming;  and  when  I  visited  the  Sabbath-school  I  was  wel- 
come and  of  course  had  to  "speak  to  the  school."  I  did 
not  care  to  inquire  how  many  of  these  women  had  been 
slaveholders,  but  I  could  not  forget  that  I  was  among  a  peo- 
ple who  formerly  had  kept  the  Bible  out  of  the  hands  of 
their  "servants." 

As  I  had  had  correspondence  with  Rev.   Dr.  ,  the 

pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  reference  to  Ju  Hing, 
he  called  upon  me  at  the  hotel  on  Saturday  and  invited  me 
to  preach  for  him  the  next  day.  I  did.  After  the  services, 
his  wife,  on  being  introduced,  said,  "Mr.  Johnston,  we  will 
be  happy  to  have  you  dine  with  us,  and  our  carriage  is  wait- 
ing at  the  door."  "Thank  you,  madam,  I  will  be  pleased 
to  go  with  you."  I  was  glad  to  be  in  the  family  of  a  Pres- 
byterian pastor  on  the  Sabbath  where  I  found  a  refined  wife 


SOUTHERN    MISSIONS    VISITED.  509 

and  three  or  four  beautiful  daughters  and  sons  all  ungrown . 
On  the  table  were  two  roast  chickens;  I  forget  what  more; 
and  at  it  stood  two  colored  "boys,"  serv'^ants.  After  the 
blessing  was  asked,  one  of  the  servants  brought  a  demijohn 
and  set  it  down  on  the  carpet  on  the  right  of  the  pastor.  I 
sat  on  his  left.  A  wine-glass  was  at  my  plate  and  another 
at  his  own.  Lifting  up  the  demijohn,  he  said:  "Brother 
Johnston,  will  you  have  a  glass  of  wine?"  Not  quite 
speechless  I  replied:  "Thank  you.  Doctor;  please  excuse 
me."  Then  he  filled  his  own  glass  and  proceeded  to  carve 
one  of  the  fowls.  During  the  meal  he  emptied  one  wine- 
glass and  part  of  a  second.  He  and  his  wife  were  good 
company  and  free  in  religious  conversation,  and  I  tried 
to  seem  to  forget  that  wine  had  been  offered  to  me  at  a  min- 
ister's table,  and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life.  If  I  could 
attempt  an}^  apology  for  "mine  host"  it  would  be  in  the  fact 
that  he  knew  I  was  from  California  and  that  Californians 
are  presumed  to  be  wine  drinkers.  But  how  could  I  apolo- 
gize for  him  when  he  offered  me  wine  in  the  presence  of  son 
and  daughters  and  wife  and  when  his  face  showed  unmistak- 
able signs  of  his  being  a  hea\^^  wine  drinker?  Whether  he 
drank  wine  habitually  at  his  own  table  I  could  only  infer 
from  what  I  saw.  On  Monday,  in  conversation  with  a 
colored  gentleman,  a  teacher,  I  was  informed  that  none  of 
the  women  of  the  Presbyterian  Cliurch  were  members  of  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  The  connection  of  the  two  facts  may  be 
apparent. 

My  next  stopping-place  was  New  Orleans.  Here  I  pre- 
sented my  letter  of  introduction  to  the  president  of  Straight 
University,  one  of  the  leading  institutions  of  the  x'Vmerican 
Missionary  Association  for  the  educati  ni  of  the  colored  people. 
I  spent  several  hours  at  the  University  under  the  courteous 
leadership  of  the  president  who  showed  me  through  the 
various   departments,  mechanical  and  industrial  as  well  as 


JIO  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    TTIP:   SUNSET    I.AND. 

literary.  He  invited  me  to  be  present  the  next  morning  at 
the  chapel  service  that  I  might  address  the  students.  Of 
these  there  were  several  hundred  and  nearh^  all  adults. 
Man3^  of  the  students,  of  both  sexes,  were  from  distant 
places  and  quite  a  number  from  the  West  India  Islands. 
Two  of  the  members  of  the  faculty  were  women.  Never 
before  had  I  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  addressing  such  a  large 
assembly  of  colored  students. 

While  I  tarried  in  New  Orleans  I  could  not  forget  how 
long  that  southern  city  had  been  one  of  the  greatest  slave 
markets  of  the  world.  In  her  slave  dungeons  untold  multi- 
tudes of  God's  unoffending  children  had  been  confined  wait- 
ing for  the  day  of  sale.  On  her  auction-blocks,  during 
generations,  untold  thousands  of  bondmen  and  bondwomen 
and  mothers  and  babes  had  been  sold  and  bought  as  other 
chattels  by  men  who  bore  the  name  of  Him  who  commanded. 
"Let  my  people  go,"  and  of  Him  who  came  "to  proclaim 
liberty  to  the  captives."  When  General  Butler  of  the  Union 
Armj^  proclaimed  the  slaves  "contrabands  of  war"  the  blood 
of  the  southern  soldiers  had  not  covered  the  blood  of  the 
slaves.  At  the  foot  of  the  whipping-posts  all  over  the  city 
this  blood  cried  for  vengeance.  The  blood  of  northern  sol- 
diers did  not  cover  it.  And  he  who  has  ears  can  hear  the 
cry  yet  as  it  mingles  with  the  sound  of  the  clanking  chains 
and  galling  manacles  and  yokes  of  the  oppres.sed.  As  I 
passed  bj'  those  old  prisons  I  could  almost  hear  the  moaning 
of  the  prisoners.  When  I  stood  where  had  been  the  auction- 
blocks  I  could  hear  the  sobs  and  the  moans  of  the  mother  to 
be  sold  from  her  children  and  to  see  them  driven  to  the  sugar 
plantation  or  the  rice  swamp  "dank  and  lone."  And  in  the 
silence  of  the  night  I  seemed  to  hear  from  the  distant  whip- 
ping-posts the  crack  of  the  masters'  whips  as  the  cords  were 
buried  into  the  flesh  of  poor  and  innocent  victims  pleading 
for  mercy.    And  I  said:  If  the  torch  in  the  hands  of  the  north- 


SOUTHERN    MISSIONS    VISITED.  5II 

ern  soldiers  had  left  that  old  slave  market  in  ashes  and  never 
to  be  rebuilt,  no  one  could  forget  that  "verily  there  is  a  God 
that  judgeth."  But  that  great  southern  city  still  stands  as 
a  monument  of  infinite  mercy  and  divine  forbearance. 

When  our  train  from  New  Orleans  to  Mobile  stopped  a 
few  minutes  at  the  station  a  mile  or  so  from  the  old  mansion 
of  Jefferson  Davis  I  inquired  of  the  agent  if  Mr.  Davis  were 
at  home.  IvCarning  that  he  was  ab.sent;  I  returned  to  my 
car  disappointed,  for  I  had  purposed  to  stop  over  one  train 
and  call  on  the  ex-president  of  the  slave-holding  confederacy 
and  the  hero  of  the  petticoats. '■'  From  that  station,  Biloxi, 
Miss.,  there  is  a  distant  and  partial  view  of  the  old  home  of 
Mr.  Davis.  It  fronts  south  over  the  gulf  but  the  planta- 
tion extends  back  north  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
railroad  to  Mobile.  The  land  is  level,  and  north  of  the 
plantation  lies  a  wide  stretch  of  pine  forests.  It  looked 
dark  and  gloomy  suggesting  the  bloodhounds  that  may 
often  have  hunted  for  the  fugitive  slaves  upon  .which  they 
had  been  .set  by  the  proud  owner,  and  reminding  me  of 
Elizur  Wright's  appeal: 

"Tlie  hounds  are  l)aying  on  my  track, 
O  Christian!  will  you  send  me  back?" 

At  Mobile  I  took  lodging  at  an  old  and  aristocratic  hotel 
that  formerly  was  the  headquarters  of  slave-traders  from  "up 
country"  and  the  "dark  belt"  of  to-day.  A  New  England 
man  was  landlord  now.  During  the  long  years  when  "cotton 
was  king"  in  the  whole  country  as  well  as  in  Alabama, 
Mobile  was  a  great  commercial  city  and  cotton  market. 
The  railroads  have  greatly  changed  the  trade,  though  the 
old  city  is  .still  important  in  commerce.  The  colored  popu- 
lation is  large  and  much  more  numerous  than  that  of  the 
whites.     I  spent  as  much  time  there  as  I  could  spare,  and 

*T1k'  reader  may  not  have  forgotten  that  Jefferson  Davis  was  cap- 
tured in  woman's  dress  in  wliicli  he  was  endeavoring'  to  escape  from 
the  country. 


512  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

I  had  a  "real  good  time."  My  friend,  Rev.  G.  M.  Elliott 
of  Selma,  had  sent  me  letters  of  introduction  to  two  of  his 
friends  there,  Rev.  Albert  F.  Owen,  pastor  of  one  of  the 
Methodist  Churches,  and  Prof.  William  A.  Caldwell,  a  promi- 
nent teacher  in  the  colored  high  school.  Rev.  Owen  was 
also  teacher  in  one  of  the  cit3'  institutions.  By  their  many 
kindnesses  they  brought  me  under  great  obligations  to  them. 
Rev.  Owen  had  been  a  slave  but  after  emancipation  was 
educated  in  the  north  and  was  now  a  pastor  of  a  church 
made  up  mosth'  of  the  educated  Methodists  who  had  come 
out  from  a  very  large  congregation  and  leaving  the  unedu- 
cated freedmen  and  women  whose  mode  of  worship  contin- 
ued to  be  much  the  same  as  had  prevailed  among  the  slaves. 
Rev.  Owen's  people  are  the  bon-ton  church  with  a  scholarly 
pastor.  He  opened  the  wa}'  for  me  to  preach  in  all  the 
three  colored  churches,  forenoon,  afternoon,  and  evening; 
and  he  invited  me  to  address  the  Sabbath-school  of  his  own 
church.  xVt  night  I  preached  in  the  Baptist  Church,  a  very 
large  old  house  with  extensive  galleries,  to  a  great  assembly, 
probably  a  thousand  people.  The  pastor,  a  man  past  middle 
life  and  full  of  pathos,  sat  in  the  pulpit  and  conducted  the 
devotional  exercises.  He  read  the  h^-mns  "line  b}-  line," 
or  rather  two  lines  at  a  time,  and  led  in  the  singing. 
Probably  no  one  had  a  hymn-book,  and  it  seemed  as  though 
everybody  sang;  and  O,  what  music!  The  volume  of  sound 
was  immense.  Man3^  of  the  people  were  old  and  gra}'- 
headed  and  some  of  them  wonderfully  demonstrative.  I 
preached  on  some  verse  or  theme  that  led  to  the  recollection 
of  former  times  and  to  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  millions.  Many  of  them  seemed  unable  to 
restrain  their  emotions,  and  to  my  sentiments  expressed 
(and  I  preached  a  kind  of  Covenanter  sermon)  there  were 
loud  ejaculator}^  expressions  of  approval.  After  the  dis- 
course was  done  the  pastor  spoke  with  earnestness  in  appro- 


SOUTHERN    MISSIONS    VISITED.  513 

batioii  of  my  most  radical  National  Reform  teachings,  and 
thanked  me  for  them.  Neither  he  nor  his  people  had  been 
trained  in  the  northern  political  school. 

My  friend  accompanied  me  to  the  academj''  under  the 
auspices  of  the  American  Missionarj^  Association  and  intro- 
duced me  to  the  principal.  We  were  invited  into  the  pro- 
fessor's parlor  where  I  was  introduced  to  his  young  wife, 
one  of  the  teachers.  She  was  a  woman  of  such  fine  culture 
and  superior  intelligence  I  was  curious  to  know  her  antece- 
dents and  former  home.  In  our  conversation  she  informed 
me  that  this  had  been  in  Ashtabula,  Ohio.  "O,  then,"  said 
I,  "you  must  have  known  that  excellent  W.  C.  T.  U. 
woman,  Mrs.  Bateham."  "  O,  yes  sir,  I  know  her  very 
well;  she  is  my  mother."  She  and  the  professor  were  con- 
gratulated. 

While  I  remained  in  Mobile  the  Congregational  confer- 
ence of  ministers  and  la}-  delegates  held  their  annual 
meeting.  Nearly  all  the  members  were  colored.  I  think 
President  De  Forest  and  another  professor  from  Taladega 
College  were  the  only  exceptions.  I  was  introduced  to 
most  of  them,  was  admitted  to  the  "privileges  of  the  floor," 
and  listened  to  most  of  their  discussions  and  addresses. 
They  all  would  compare  favorably  with  any  I  had  ever 
heard  in  New  England.  Indeed,  many  of  the  pastors  of 
the  colored  churches  organized  by  the  American  Missionary 
Association  have  been  educated  in  northern  if  not  in  New 
England  theological  schools.  With  one  exception  while  in 
Mobile  I  had  no  occasion  or  opportunity'  to  form  acquaint- 
ance with  the  whites  except  those  who  were  working  for 
the  colored  people.  I  learned  that  one  or  two  of  the  promi- 
nent officers  of  the  state  W.  C.  T.  U.  resided  in  the  city. 
As  my  wife  at  that  time  was  the  president  of  the  California 
W.  C.  T.  U.  I  wished  to  get  some  intelligence  items  of 
importance.  Obtaining  the  address  of  one  of  these  ladies 
33 


514  IvOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

I  called  at  her  residence,  introduced  myself  and  told  her 
m}^  errand.  In  the  conversation  I  learned  that  she  was  a 
Methodist.  And  this  led  to  conversation  about  Methodist 
ministers  as  reformers;  and  forgetting  that  I  was  talking 
with  a  southern  woman  and,  as  I  learned  afterwards,  an 
ex-slaveholder,  I  incidentally  remarked  that  in  Vermont 
I  had  known  many  Methodist  ministers  and  except  one 
they  all  were  anti-slaver5\  In  a  moment  she  changed  her 
demeanor,  her  eye  flashed  fire,  anger  was  depicted  in  her 
countenance,  and  I  soon  saw  what  a  silly  blunder  I  had 
made  in  the  presence  of  a  lady  from  whom  I  had  asked 
information.  I  did  not  prolong  my  call.  It  was  too  mani- 
fest that  a  northerner  of  anti-slavery  antecedents  was  not 
VN^elcome.     Perhaps  she  was  only  a  typical  southern  woman. 


CHAPTER    IvII. 
Selma  and  Beaufort. 

From  Mobile  my  railroad  ticket  took  me  to  Selma,  Ala., 
a  place  and  whose  institutions  and  people  I  had  long  desired 
to  see.  When  I  found  myself  in  a  Covenanter  atmosphere 
and  among  Covenanter  friends  I  was  happy;  and  during  the 
two  weeks  spent  there  I  saw  so  much  and  learned  so  much 
that  gave  me  joy  I  would  like  to  write  it  all  here  if  space 
would  permit;  but  it  will  not.  I  had  previously  seen  Rev. 
Mr  Dill,  principal  of  Knox  Academy,  but  we  were  ver}' 
slightly  acquainted.  I  had  better  acquaintance  with  Elder 
Pickens,  the  teacher  at  Pleasant  Grove  Mission;  but  Rev. 
G.  M.  Elliott,  the  pastor  of  the  Covenanter  congregation 
there,  was  the  only  one  with  whom  I  had  intimate  acquaint- 
ance. To  add  to  the  pleasantness  of  my  visit.  Rev.  S.  G. 
Shaw  and  wife  of  Walton,  New  York,  were  in  Selma  on  a 
visit  and  were  lodging  with  Rev.  Dill's  family.  He  was  a 
serious  cripple  from  a  fall  he  had  received.  Most  of  the 
time  I  made  my  home  with  Rev.  Mr.  Elliott  and  wife,  an 
educated  lady  whom  he  found  in  Selma.  She  had  been 
a  Congregationalist  but  had  acceded  to  the  church  of  her 
husband.  vShe  was  loyal  to  him,  but  I  question  if  she 
was  as  good  a  Covenanter.  Birds  of  the  real  vScotch-blue 
plumage  are  rare. 

The  city  of  Selma  is  situated  on  the  Alabama  River  and 
in  "the  black  belt,"  that  part  of  Alabama  almost  wholly 
devoted  to  the  growth  of  cotton,  and  where  the  slave  popu- 
lation  had   been  very  large.     Most  of  the  colored    people 

(515) 


5l6  LOOKING    BACK    F'ROM    THE   vSUNSRT    LAND. 

reside  outside  of  the  city  proper.  The  whites,  preferring 
to  have  their  own  way  in  municipal  elections  and  to  be 
free  from  the  control  of  the  blacks,  ha.d  shut  these  out  of 
the  corporation.  This  part  of  the  city  was  growing;  the 
old  vSelma  was  not.  Our  Covenanter  Church  and  Knox 
Academy  are  on  the  north  side  of  the  street  which  divides 
the  two  parts  of  the  city.  So  also  is  the  Baptist  College, 
a  rising  institution  and  most  likely  to  wholly  overshadow 
our  academy  unless  this  be  well  endowed  as  a  college  giving 
a  full  course  of  study.  If  this  can  not  be,  our  students  who 
complete  the  academic  course  should  be  sent  to  Geneva  and 
as  beneficiaries  rather  than  not  at  all;  otherwise  they  will 
graduate  at  the  Baptist  college.  Each  Sabbath  that  I  spent 
in  Selma  I  preached  for  Brother  Elliott  and  had  the  pleasure 
also  of  hearing  him  preach.  He  was  more  didactic  and 
scholarly  than  eloquent.  He  lacked  that  unction  and  ear- 
nestness that  generally  characterize  preachers  of  his  race. 
I  suppose  he  is  better  adapted  to  teaching.  He  has  good 
executive  ability  and  is  a  fine  scholar;  and  the  Allegheny 
Board  did  wrong  to  him  and  to  the  academy  when  they 
removed  him  from  the  principalship.  It  would  have  been 
better  to  have  asked  him  to  resign  the  pastorate  of  the  con- 
gregation; for  though  he  was  a  good  pastor  and  preacher  he 
was  a  better  teacher.  And  I  do  know  that  the  colored  people 
in  Selma  and  friends  of  the  academy  would  all  the  time  pre- 
fer to  see  a  colored  man  at  the  head  of  the  literary  institution, 
other  things  being  equal. 

At  the  time  I  was  in  Selma  Rev.  J.  W.  Dill,  the  efficient 
principal  of  the  school,  was  assisted  by  Mrs.  Dill,  a  superior 
educator,  and  four  or  five  colored  teachers,  women  of  worth 
and  refinement.  The  music  teacher  was  Mrs.  Cardoza,  a 
daughter  of  James  Williams,  formerly  the  colored  elder  and 
precentor  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  congregation. 

While  I  remained  in  Selma  I  lost  no  time  but  was  kept 


Rev.  G,   M.   Elliott 


SELMA    AND    BEAUFORT.  517 

bus}'  seeing  and  hearing  what  greatly  interested  me;  and  to 
this  day  I  feel  grateful  to  the  many  friends  who  showed  me 
so  much  kindness.  One  Sabbath  Professor  Dill  took  me 
with  him  to  Pleasant  Grove,  a  mission  station  about  four 
miles  distant,  in  which  Klder  Pickens,  a  graduate  of  Geneva, 
teaches  week-school  and  conducts  a  Sabbath-school.  Rev. 
Dill  preached  here  on  Sabbaths.  At  his  invitation  I  preached 
that  day  and  addressed  the  Sabbath-school.  The  mission 
house  was  only  a  good  log  cabin,  but  it  stands  in  a  charm- 
ing grove  and  was  occupied  by  a  live  missionary.  I  almost 
envied  him  his  post  of  labor  among  the  freedmen  of  that 
country  district. 

In  company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elliott  I  was  present  at  a 
fine  literary  entertainment  given  one  night  by  the  students 
of  the  Baptist  college.  The  music  and  the  genuine  oratory 
were  of  a  very  superior  grade.  But  with  one  of  the  exer- 
cises I  was  greatly  dissatisfied,  viz.,  the  cantata  of  Jephthah's 
Daughter.  The  writer  of  this  otherwise  excellent  piece  of 
literature  represents  the  Hebrew  father  and  general  as  actu- 
ally sacrificing  (/.  e.,  murdering)  his  daughter.  The  acting 
of  such  a  horrible  scene  on  the  platform  was  as  shocking 
as  disgusting,  and  all  the  more  because  that  godly  man 
never  did  offer  up  his  lovel}'  and  only  daughter  in  a  bloody 
sacrifice. 

The  next  morning,  according  to  invitation,  I  was  present 
at  the  opening  exercises  of  the  college  and  was  asked  to 
address  the  students.  I  took  occasion  to  speak  in  high 
praise  of  the  literary  exercises  of  the  evening  previous,  but 
also  to  testify  against  the  wrong  interpretation  put  upon  the 
record  of  Jephthah's  actions,  etc.  As  cautiously  as  possible 
I  protested  against  presenting  such  a  cruel  scene  upoii  the 
platform  as  though  God  was  well  pleased  with  it. 

At  the  Congregational  conference  in  Mobile  I  had  become 
acquainted  with  Rev.   Mr.  Peters,  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 


5lS  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

tional  Church  in  Selma.  He  was  a  scholarly  gentleman 
and  had  charge  of  the  Burrell  Academy  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  American  Missionary  Association.  This  made 
the  third  literar}'  institution  in  Selma  for  the  education  of 
freedmen.  While  I  was  there  we  renewed  our  acquaintance, 
and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  dining  with  him  and  his  highlj- 
cultured  wife.  Both  were  educated  in  the  north.  He  and 
Mr.  Elliott  were  intimate  friends.  The  two  academies  did 
not  seem  to  be  rivals  but  rather  cooperative.  In  benevolence 
this  is  beavitiful. 

During  the  week  between  the  two  Sabbaths  the  Alabama 
State  Teachers'  Institute  (colored)  held  their  annual  meeting- 
in  Selma.  .  To  me  it  was  the  most  interesting  of  my  life. 
Many  of  the  leading  members  of  the  association  were  men 
and  women  of  brilliant  talents,  fine  education,  and  cultured 
eloquence.  The  addresses  given  and  the  papers  read  were 
nearly  all  of  a  high  order.  My  friend,  Rev.  G.  M.  Elliott, 
was  president  of  the  institute.  His  opening  address  was  a 
master  performance.  I  was  proud  of  him,  and  I  was  glad 
that  a  student  in  whose  education  I  had  had  somewhat  to  do 
was  worthy  of  the  honor  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  Alabama 
teachers.  At  the  election  of  officers  before  the  convention 
closed,  Mr.  Elliott  was  elected  president  for  a  second  year. 
Principal  Dill  gave  a  good  address  on  the  Bible  in  the  public 
schools  and  bore  faithful  testimony  in  behalf  of  National 
Reform  principles.  Mrs.  Dill  and  another  of  the  Knox 
Academy  teachers  were  active  members.  But  the  most  mas- 
terly minds  among  all  in  the  convention  were  Professor 
Booker  T.  Washington  and  President  De  Forest,  both  con- 
nected with  leading  colleges  under  the  patronage  or  control 
of  the  American  Missionary  Association.  At  the  closing 
session  of  the  convention  the  state  superintendent  of  schools 
was  present  and  gave  a  short  address.  I  could  not  but 
wonder  at  the  follv  of  the  southerners  who  do  not  blend  the 


SELMA     AND     BEAUFORT.  519 

schools,  both  black  and  white,  together.  Were  the  few 
white  members  of  this  Selma  convention  harmed  by  intel- 
lectual contact  with  the  negro  teachers  ?  Was  Principal  Dill 
humiliated  by  being  in  a  convention  whose  presiding  officer 
was  his  colored  brother  in  the  church  ?  What  consummate 
folly!  The  objection  to  equality  between  the  races  is  not  in 
the  color  but  in  the  condition.  Let  the  race  so  long  enslaved 
and  hence  so  much  wronged  and  degraded  be  lifted  up  by  the 
race  that  did  the  wrongs.  I^et  the  freedmen  be  educated  and 
freed  from  the  vices  and  immoralities  that  adhere  to  a  people 
only  beginning  to  get  away  from  the  southern  flesh-pots, 
and  then  the  question  of  caste  will  be  half  solved.  The 
solution  of  the  other  half  will  be  found  in  the  religion  of 
Christ  Jesus. 

Since  my  visit  to  vSelma  another  mission  station  has  been 
opened  a  few  miles  out  of  the  city  and  is  under  the  super- 
intendence of  Elder  J.  C.  Phillips,  a  very  worthy  colored 
teacher;  and  the  entire  administration  of  both  church  and 
academy  has  passed  into  other  hands.  Rev.  Solomon 
Kingston,  a  most  excellent  colored  man  and  a  graduate  of 
Geneva  and  of  our  Theological  Seminary,  is  pastor  of  the 
congregation;  and  Rev.  R.  J.  Mclsaac,  assisted  by  a  full 
corps  of  teachers,  some  of  both  races,  is  the  principal  of  the 
literary  institution.  The  mission  in  all  these  departments  is 
reported  to  be  flourishing  and  rising.  lyooking  back  from 
this  standpoint  to  the  day  I  landed  at  Beaufort,  S.  C,  when 
there  were  nearly  four  millions  of  slaves  in  the  south  and 
when  I  began  an  experimental  w^ork  among  the  "contra- 
bands of  war,"  my  soul  exclaims,  What  hath  God  wrought! 

W^ith  such  emotions  I  departed  from  Selma  to  visit  other 
missions  and  schools  and  on  to  Beaufort,  S.  C.  At  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  one  of  the  most  northern-like  cities  of  the  south,  I 
spent  what  time  I  could  spare  in  the  two  schools  under  the 
American    Missionary    Association.      The    history   of    the 


520     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

Storrs  School  is  interesting,  and  the  institution  I  found  in  a 
flourishing  condition  with  lady  teachers  of  rare  and  superior 
qualifications.  The  one  in  charge  would  not  let  me  depart 
until  I  had  visited  every  room  and  had  spoken  to  every 
cla.ss.  At  Augusta,  Ga.,  I  formed  a  pleasant  acquaintance 
with  a  colored  clergyman  who  had  the  superintendence  of  a 
graded  school  and  was  also  the  editor  of  a  denominational 
religious  weekly.  I  can  not  now  remember  his  name  but  I 
well  remember  he  was  an  enthusiast  in  the  education  and 
elevation  of  the  freedmen,  and  he  had  suffered  persecution 
at  the  hands  of  his  southern  neighbors. 

During  the  da}'  that  I  remained  in  Augusta  the  state 
W.  C.  T.  U.  was  in  convention.  I  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  the  president,  Mrs.  Sibley,  and  of  the  popular  Sallie 
Chapin  who  gave  one  of  the  princij^al  addresses.  At  Mrs. 
Sibley's  request  I  addressed  the  convention  and  gave  a 
synopsis  of  the  work  being  done  in  California  and  of  the 
condition  of  society  there  in  reference  to  the  wine  production 
and  wine-drinking  habits.  I  was  favorably  impressed  with 
the  appearance  of  the  temperance  women  of  Georgia,  and 
for  the  time  being  I  forgot  that  I  was  in  an  old  slave  state. 
Georgia,  however,  had  more  northern  blood  in  her  veins 
than  probably  any  of  the  planting  states. 

As  the  train  for  Beaufort,  S.  C,  was  behind  time  I  did  not 
get  into  the  old  camp-ground  until  after  dark  and  I  could 
see  little  of  the  place  until  morning.  Rising  before  the  sun 
I  sauntered  through  the  little  cit5^  Twenty-five  years  had 
wrought  such  changes  I  could  scarceh^  recognize  it  as  the 
same  place.  The  sound  of  the  reveille  was  not  heard.  No 
countersign  was  demanded  by  a  mounted  guard.  No  regi- 
mental camps  were  visible.  No  tramp  of  marching  soldiers 
was  heard.  Old  mansions  of  ante-bellum  slaveholders  that 
had  been  the  headquarters  of  Union  generals  and  colonels 
and  majors  were  now  occupied  by  peaceful  citizens.     Some 


SELMA    AND    BEAUFORT.  521 

slaveholding  families  that  had  lived  in  affluence  now  re- 
occupied  their  homes  in  ver>'  limited  circumstances.  What 
had  once  been  a  cit}^  of  six  thousand  people  and  the  sea- 
coast  summer-home  of  many  whose  plantations  and  slaves 
were  inland  or  "up  countrj-,"  had  become  the  home  of  peo- 
ple who  mourned  the  loss  of  fathers  or  huslxxnds  or  sons 
who  had  fallen  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  perhaps  they 
also  mourn  the  loss  of  slaves  set  free  by  the  emancipation 
proclamation.  Beaufort  whose  jiopulation  at  one  time  was 
largely  white,  for  the  slaves  mostl}'  were  out  on  the  planta- 
tions, now  had  a  population  largeh'  negro.  In  the  munici- 
pal elections  the  colored  voters  were  three-fourths  of  the  whole 
number.  The  colored  people  at  every  election,  whether  of 
the  county  or  of  the  cit)',  could  elect  their  own  choice,  all 
negroes  if  they  chose;  but  they  had  found  that  when  they 
did  this  they  had  almost  civil  war  and  were  liable  to  all 
manner  of  abuse  or  assaults  or  riot.  Hence  for  the  sake  of 
peace  the  negroes  permitted  tlie  whites  to  choose  their  own 
officers  in  the  higher  departments.  The  peaceful  freedmen 
let  the  "ole  massas"  have  the  judges  and  mayors,  etc.,  while 
they  choose  from  among  themselves  the  sheriffs  and  con- 
stables and  "squires"  and  policemen,  etc.  Thus  they  had 
peace;  thus  they  avoided  lynchings. 

So  changed  was  the  old  city  that  in  that  ante-breakfast 
saunter  I  had  difficulty  in  finding  the  Methodist  Church  in 
which  I  had  preached  to  the  contrabands.  I  found  it  but  it 
had  been  remodeled  and  changed  so  that  it  appeared  like 
another  house  altogether.  The  old  stone  Episcopal  Church 
from  which  General  Stevens  and  his  wife  had  fled  in  haste 
had  undergone  little  change.  The  old  "praisehouses"  had 
been  removed  and  some  new  churches  built.  Where  no 
schools  had  been  except  for  "contrabands"  taught  by  a  few 
northern  missionaries,  now  there  were  two  good  schools, 
one    denominational   and   the    other   the    public   .school    or 


522  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

academy  with  a  large  and  fine  brick  building.  At  this 
writing  there  is  another  and  flourishing  school,  Harbison 
Institute,  who.se  honored  principal  is  Rev.  G.  M.  lilliott, 
formerly  the  principal  of  Knox  Academy,  Selma,  Ala.  The 
institute  is  under  the  care  of  the  Northern  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Missions  for  the  freedmen. 

During  my  stay  in  Beaufort  I  made  diligent  search  for 
any  of  the  colored  people  whom  I  had  known  before  and 
who  might  be  living  3^et  and  still  residents.  I  had  with  me 
the  roll  of  scholars  ("contrabands";  who  had  been  in  the 
.school.  I  found  a  few.  They  were  mostly  women.  Many 
of  the  men  had  become  soldiers  in  the  Union  Army  and  were 
killed  or  had  never  returned.  Others  had  removed  else- 
where. My  good  old  friend,  Tarquin  Cohen,  had  gone  to 
heaven  and  his  surviving  children  and  grandchildren  were 
scattered.  I  found  a  good  old  colored  woman  who,  though 
she  did  not  recognize  me  at  first,  remembered  me  well  as 
her  teacher  and  told  me  how  much  she  remembered  of  my 
preaching.  She  begged  me  to  remain  and  preach  the  com- 
ing Sabbath.  When  I  told  her  I  could  not  remain  over 
Sabbath  (it  was  several  days  yet)  she  said:  "O,  Mr.  John- 
ston, dear  Mr.  Johnston,  do  stay  and  preach  again.  I'll  go 
round  and  tell  all  the  people  that  our  teacher  that  came 
away  from  the  north  time  of  the  war  to  preach  to  us  the 
gospel  of  freedom,  is  here  again;  and  the  house'll  not  hold 
the  people  that'll  come  to  church."  How^  gladly  would  I 
have  remained,  but  I  could  not.  My  arrangements  had  all 
been  made  to  be  elsewhere  the  coming  Sabbath. 

On  inquiry  I  learned  the  residences  of  two  brothers  and 
their  families  whom  I  resolved  to  see.  I  remembered  them 
as  half-grown  boys,  sons  of  a  carpenter,  a  free  man,  living 
across  the  street  from  my  lodging-house,  whose  name  was 
Robinson.  His  wife  had  cooked  my  meals  for  me  and  sent 
them  over  on  a  tray  by  one  of  the  boys.     I  was  told  that 


SBLMA    and    BEAUFORT.  523 

their  father  and  mother  had  been  dead  a  long  time  but  that 
these  two  sons  were  well-to-do  carpenters  yet  in  the  cit3\ 
My  informant  promised  to  tell  the  Robinson  brothers  that  at 
the  hotel  there  was  a  gentleman  who  wished  to  see  them  the 
next  morning.  Soon  after  breakfast  some  one  rapped  at  m}- 
door  and  told  me  that  there  were  two  men  down  in  the  par- 
lor who  wished  to  see  me.  I  went  down  to  meet  them.  I 
did  not  know  them  nor  did  they  know  me.  In  them  I  could 
see  nothing  to  remind  me  of  the  boj-s  who  twenty-five  years 
before  had  brought  me  my  bread  and  broiled  fish.  But  when 
I  told  them  who  I  was  and  recalled  to  them  the  service  the}' 
had  rendered  me,  they  remembered  it  all;  and  we  talked  over 
the  past.  From  them  I  obtained  much  desired  information, 
among  other  things,  that  they  had  received  a  good  educa- 
tion, that  they  both  had  held  ofluces  in  the  city,  and  that 
one  of  them  had  been  a  member  of  the  state  Legislature  one  or 
two  terms.  They  both  owned  good  houses,  were  members 
of  one  of  the  churches,  and  had  children  in  the  vSabbath- 
schools.  Before  I  left  Beaufort  I  called  upon  them  and  saw 
their  interesting  families  in  their  comfortable  houses. 

There  was  one  man  whom  I  was  anxious  to  see  and  whom, 
after  inquiry,  I  easily  found,  viz.  Abel  Middleton,  the  tailor 
and  sick  man  of  whom  I  have  written  on  a  previous  page. 
He  was  the  contraband  who  at  the  time  of  my  departure 
north  feared  he  was  on  his  death-bed.  At  that  time  he  was 
not  a  professor  of  religion  in  au}^  church.  When  I  told  him 
that  1  expected  to  return  home  shortly  he  said  he  had  had  a 
great  desire  to  go  with  me  but  now  could  not.  I  told  him 
probably  I  might  be  back  again.  He  replied:  "I  am  afraid 
I'll  not  be  alive  then.  Pray  for  me."  No  one  was  present 
but  the  Hearer  of  prayer.  I  kneeled  and  begged  God  to 
save  him  and  to  spare  his  life,  and  then  bade  him  farewell 
hardly  daring  to  hope  that  ever  I  would  see  him  again. 

To  return  to  my  narrative.     On  the  street  I  met  an  old 


524  LOOKING    BACK   FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

citizen  and  asked  him  if  he  knew  Abel  Middleton  and  if  he 
was  living  yet.  "O  yes,  he  is  alive  and  well  and  has  a 
tailor  shop  right  around  the  corner  on  that  street."  I  went 
around  the  corner  and  found  the  tailor  shop.  I  found  a  fine- 
looking  colored  man  alone  at  work.  Twenty-five  years 
had  wrought  such  changes  I  would  not  have  known  him 
had  I  met  him  elsewhere.  Said  I:  "Is  this  Abel  Middleton?" 
"Yes  sir,  that  is  my  name."  Extending  my  hand  I  said: 
"Do  you  not  know  me  ?' '  "No  sir,  I  can  not  recognize  you." 
Holding  my  hand  and  looking  steadily  at  me  with  a  smile 
coming  over  his  face,  he  added  slowly:  "Yes,  I've  seen  3'ou 
before,  but — I — O  !  is  this  Mr.Johnstoni' ' '  On  being  assured 
that  he  was  not  mistaken,  he  manifested  much  joy  and  said: 
"O,  I  am  so  happy  to  see  you  again,"  and  handed  me  a 
chair.  Our  talk  was  not  very  long — my  time  was  limited— 
but  it  was  very  pleasant.  He  told  me  of  his  recovery,  of 
what  had  occurred  in  Beaufort  after  my  departure,  and  how 
long  he  had  lived  if  not  an  openly  wicked  life  yet  as  if  an 
unbeliever.  But  said  he:  "Mr.  Johnston,  I  never  forgot 
your  teaching,  your  preaching,  and  your  prayer  the  last 
time  I  saw  you.  I  lived  too  long  a  careless  sinner;  but  now 
I  am  a  Christian.  Not  long  ago  [and  he  mentioned  the 
time]  I  was  led  to  Christ  and  am,  I  hope,  a  saved  sinner." 
He  told  me  with  what  church  he  had  united  but  I  have  for- 
gotten. In  thinking  over  the  whole  matter  I  could  not 
repress  the  hope  that  this  was  another  evidence  that  ours  is 
a  prayer-hearing  God.  He  does  hear  prayer,  but  he  answers 
in  his  own  time.  If  Abel  Middleton  was  one  of  his  chosen 
ones  given  to  Christ,  the  good  Shepherd  did  not  lose  sight  of 
him  though  outside  of  the  fold.  In  the  exercise  of  his 
sovereignty  he  permitted  him  to  wander  long;  and  then  in 
his  own  time  called  him  to  himself.  And  his  words  may 
not  be  forgotten:  "Other  sheep  I  have  which  are  not  of  this 
fold."     Since  the  foregoing  was  written  I  have  received  a 


SEIvMA     AND    BEAUFORT.  525 

letter,  under  the  date  of  April  17,  1897,  from  Rev.  G.  M. 
Elliott  in  reply  to  one  of  inquiry  from  me.  He  says:  "Abel 
Middleton  is  still  in  the  same  place  where  you  saw  him.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  He  made  a  vest  for  me 
about  a  month  ago.  He  seems  to  be  leading  a  consistent 
Christian  life.  He  lives  only  a  few  doors  from  me.  He  has 
an  excellent  wife.  She  has  been  very  kind  to  us  in  our 
recent  sickness.     Mr.  Middleton  sends  much  love  to  you." 

In  reference  to  the  Robinson  brothers  Mr.  Elliott  writes: 
"Peter  is  dead.  Joseph  is  still  alive  and  active  in  the  church 
(Baptist).  He  is  now  an  ordained  preacher.  This  is  the 
one  that  was  in  the  legislature.  He  is  now  out  of  politics 
as  politics  has  grown  away  from  him." 

As  my  time  was  limited  I  hurried  away  from  Beaufort  to 
take  my  journe}^  north  through  Atlanta  and  Cincinnati. 


CHAPTER  UII. 

The  Synod  of  1889.     Important  Questions. 

Saturday  evening  found  me  at  my  sister's  home  in  Belle- 
Centre,  O.,  on  my  way  to  the  National  Reform  Conference 
at  Pittsburg.  Here  I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  numerous 
addresses  on  the  great  themes  involved  in  the  movement, 
and  some  of  them  by  eminent  speakers  among  whom  were 
Rev.  Dr.  T.  P.  Stevenson,  editor  of  the  Christian  Statesman 
and  always  at  home  on  the  National  Reform  platform,  Rev. 
Dr.  McAllister,  whose  address  on  the  Bible  in  the  schools 
w^as  the  best  I  ever  heard  on  that  theme,  Rev.  Wilber  S. 
Crafts,  the  author  of  "The  Sabbath  for  Man,"  Mrs.  Wood- 
bridge,  the  secretary  of  the  National  W.  C.  T.  U.,  and  Rev. 
A.  T.  Pierson,  D.  D.,  whose  theme  was  the  "Relation  of  the 
Civil  Powers  to  Foreign  Missions,"  in  which  he  showed  the 
wickedness  of  the  governments  that  tolerate  or  foster  the 
traffic  in  intoxicating  drinks  in  heathen  lands.  Mrs.  J.  C. 
Bateham  also  was  one  of  the  speakers.  As  she  was  the 
national  superintendent  of  the  Department  of  Sabbath 
Observance  in  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  she  spoke  on  that  theme. 
Mrs.  Bateham,  as  she  seems  to  me,  is  the  most  beautiful 
writer  on  all  subjects  pertaining  to  the  Sabbath  Reform,  but 
her  public  addresses  are  ordinary  in  comparison  with  the 
productions  of  her  pen.  Her  leaflets,  of  which  there  is  a 
great  number  and  variety,  have  done  very  much  in  behalf  of 
Sabbath  observance.  It  was  at  that  conference  that  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  my  first  acquaintance  with  those  two  good 
women  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Dr.  Sterrett  whose  guests  they 

(526) 


THK    SYNOD    OF     liSSg.  527 

were  during  the  convention.  Since  then  Mrs.  Woodbridge 
has  been  admitted  into  the  Father's  house. 

Synod  met  this  j^ear  in  Belle-Centre,  O.,  Rev.  D.  C. 
Coulter,  moderator.  As  my  sister's  residence  was  here,  I 
was  happ3^  at  her  home  all  the  time  of  Synod,  and  Brother 
Armour  was  again  my  fellow-lodger.  In  a  hall  near  the 
church  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  of  the  town  furnished  the  dinners 
for  the  members  of  Synod.  This  helped  to  make  the  time 
of  recess  both  social  and  joyous.  For  the  meals  a  fair  price 
was  paid,  and  the  women  received  quite  an  increase  to  their 
treasury. 

Two  questions  of  special  importance  were  before  Synod, 
viz.,  the  adoption  of  the  new  "Psalter,"  and  the  old  ques- 
tion, "May  we  vote  on  constitutional  amendments?"  The 
report  of  the  committee  on  the  Psalter  had  been  before  Synod 
at  a  previous  meeting  and  had  been  recommitted.  The 
church  was  not  satisfied  with  it.  At  this  meeting  there  was 
much  opposition  to  it  but  a  majority  adopted  it.  It  was 
manifest  that  many  had  not  examined  the  new  book  suffi- 
ciently to  vote  intelligently.  Some  voted  to  adopt  more 
because  they  wanted  something  new  tlian  because  of  any 
knowledge  of  the  real  character  of  the  new  book;  that  is, 
they  knew  that  the  old  book  had  many  imperfections  and 
some  gross,  and  they  supposed  that  a  committee  of  reputed 
scholars  would  surely  make  it  better  rather  than  worse,  and 
so  the  adoption  of  the  new  would  be  at  least  an  improvement. 
If  the  whole  church  had  examined  the  book  carefully  they 
would  have  seen  that  the  new  Psalter  had  many  imperfec- 
tions, many  things  very  objectionable,  and  then  some  others 
gros.sly  and  decidedly  wrong.  In  the  judgment  of  the 
writer,  therefore,  there  was  too  much  haste  in  the  adoption. 
It  should  have  been  sent  down  in  overture  for  the  examina- 
tion of  all  the  sessions.  With  all  its  imperfections  it  should 
have  been  kept  back  or  not  adopted  until  after  closer  and 


528      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

more  general  examination.  The  result  would  have  been 
either  such  modifications  as  would  bring  it  nearer  to  perfec- 
tion^  or  the  rejection  of  it  altogether  until  a  Psalter  will  be 
prepared  so  good  that  all  the  Psalm-singing  churches  will 
agree  upon  its  adoption.  As  it  is  now  it  is  quite  probable  that 
after  a  little  the  present  Psalter  will  have  to  be  laid  aside  to 
give  place  to  another  and  far  better. 

On  the  question  of  voting  for  or  against  constitutional 
amendments  there  were  several  long-continued  debates. 
Whether  b}^  previous  arrangement  or  by  common  consent 
did  not  appear,  but  in  the  discussion  the  speakers  made 
their  arguments  alternateh^  or  so  that  no  two  consecutive 
speeches  would  be  made  on  either  side.  This  made  Synod 
appear  like  a  debating  club  rather  than  a  court  of  Christ  or 
legislative  bod}-.  As  the  question  had  been  before  Synod  in 
some  form  two  or  three  times  before,  it  could  not  be  expected 
that  much  in  the  argument  on  either  side  could  be  new;  yet 
new  interest  was  derived  from  the  fact  that  in  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania  a  constitutional  amendment  was  pending. 
The  question  to  be  decided  by  the  voters  was:  Shall  the  sale 
of  intoxicating  liquors  be  prohibited  ?  or  words  to  that  effect. 
In  that  state  the  number  of  Covenanters  was  greater  than  in 
any  other,  so  that  it  would  be  a  practical  question  shortly. 
As  all  Covenanters  were  presumed  to  be  prohibitionists  and 
anxious  to  help  to  suppress  the  liquor  traffic,  if  S3'nod  would 
vote  no,  /.  c,  say  that  we  may  not  vote  on  amendments, 
then  church-members  would  have  to  disobey  Synod  or  not 
embrace  an  opportunity  to  help  to  destroy  a  great  evil. 
Thus  the  incentive  to  vote  affirmativel}^  on  the  question 
pending  in  Synod  was  very  great.  Able  speakers  made 
arguments  on  both  sides.  The  ayes  an<i  noes  were  taken 
and  every  voter  permitted  to  give  briefl}'  his  reason  for  his 
vote.  The  a^-es  prevailed  b^^  a  decided  majority.  The}- 
were   exultant.     A  large  minority-  recorded   their   dissent; 


THE   SYNOD    OF     1889.  529 

and  the  members  went  home  presumably  with  opinions  the 
same  as  before  Synod.  Many  of  the  best  men  in  the  church 
were  greatly  dissatisfied  and  not  a  few  discouraged  and  sad 
fearing  that  Synod's  decision  portended  evil  and  defection  in 
the  body. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  thought  then  and  still  believes 
that  many  who  favor  voting  on  constitutional  amendments 
have  superficial  views  and  that  the  truth  lies  deeper  than  is 
supposed.  And  it  may  be  so  simplified  and  tersety  stated  as 
to  be  discovered  by  honest  seekers.  The  government 
whether  federal  or  state,  is  a  political  organization  or  volun- 
tary society.  Its  moral  character  depends  largely  upon  the 
character  of  the  Constitution.  By  this  test  the  govern- 
ment is  both  immoral  and  non-Christian  or  anti-Christian; 
therefore  membership  in  it  is  sinful.  All  voters  are  mem- 
bers. Voters  on  constitutional  amendments  are  as  really 
members  as  those  who  vote  for  officers,  for  none  can  vote  in 
either  case  whose  names  are  not  on  the  "great  register"  or 
who  are  not  political  citizens  or  members  of  the  society. 
The  register  is  the  index  of  membership.  Thus,  whatever 
may  be  the  wish  or  design  of  the  Covenanter  voter  the 
government  or  political  society  understands  him  to  be  a 
member  bound  by  the  Constitution  to  which  he  has  tacitly 
given  his  approbation.  By  his  vote  at  the  polls  he  virtually 
or  tacitly  signs  the  Constitution.  To  all  this  there  is  and 
can  be  only  one  exception.  This  is  when  a  .state  passes  an 
act  permitting  all  the  people  within  the  limits  to  vote  on  the 
question— all  who  live  in  the  state  whether  naturalized  or 
not,  alien  or  not,  foreigner  or  not — /.  e.,  all  inhabitants  over 
a  certain  age.  An  illustration  makes  it  plain.  If  the  Penn- 
s)4vania  lyCgislature  had  enacted  that  Covenanters  as  well 
as  others — Covenanters  who  are  known  by  the  Legislature 
and  the  people  to  be  dissenters  and  non-voters — might  vote 
on  the  question  of  prohibition,  then  the  hindrance  would  be 
34 


530  LOOKING    BACK    FKOM   THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

removed  and  then  it  would  l^ecome  a  dut}^  to  vote  for  prohi- 
bition. Thus  the  logic  of  the  truth  is  plain.  Membership 
in  the  political  society  or  government  is  sinful.  Only  mem- 
bers of  the  government  can  be  voters.  By  voting  for  con- 
stitutional amendments  the  voters  become  members,  or  act 
as  members.     Therefore,  all  voters  are  culpable. 

But  the  objector  says  that  by  not  voting  we  refuse  to  help 
the  state  or  government  to  make  the  Constitution  better 
when  we  have  an  opportunity  offered.  We  reply:  The  p'iso- 
ple  who  made  the  government  and  who  3'et  make  the  gov- 
ernment have  made  it  so  that  we  can  not  help  them.  They 
have  hedged  up  the  waj^  against  us.  We  are  outsiders,  and 
except  as  we  use  or  do  not  use  our  moral  influence  in  the 
education  of  public  opinion,  are  not  responsible  for  the  con- 
stitutional sins  of  the  body  politic  or  government.  As  we 
can  not  go  into  a  Masonic  lodge  to  help  to  make  its  consti- 
tution better,  so  we  can  not  go  into  the  government  to 
amend  its  constitution.  Governmental  atheism  and  anti- 
Christianism  and  infidelity  and  Sabbath  desecration  and 
the  liquor  traffic  and  wrongdoing  against  the  negroes  and 
the  Chinese,  are  all  so  great  and  make  the  whole  soul  and 
body  of  the  civil  structure  so  offensive  to  God  and  his  Son, 
the  lyOrd  of  nations,  we  are  shut  out  as  out  of  a  Masonic 
lodge.  The  politicians  must  attend  to  their  own  affairs. 
We  can  not  unite  with  them  in  their  anti-Christian  govern- 
mental society.  Our  work  is  to  revolutionize  it.  If  they 
will  not  hear  us,  God  will  overturn  it  and  the  Omnipotent 
arm  of  his  Anointed  One  will  dash  it  to  pieces  as  a  potter's 
vessel  is  broken. 

But  the  Synod  of  1889  did  not  see  it  so.  Many  of  the 
church's  best  friends  who,  as  others,  wished  to  be  loyal  to 
her  Head,  voted  with  the  majority.  It  was  a  question  of 
opinion  not  of  character.  But  it  was  an  evil  hour.  By  the 
vote  of  Synod  she  abandoned  the  church's  tower  of  strength. 


tub:  synod  of  1889.  531 

From  that  hour  she  has  been  growing  weaker.  It  was  a 
heavy  blow  upon  the  wedge  of  division.  Defection  followed. 
To  too  many  the  covenant  of  1871  seemed  as  a  rope  of  sand. 
And  even  among  those  who  continue  together  under  the 
shadow  of  that  covenant  banner  there  is  a  painful  lack  of 
unanimity,  and  the  cause  of  Christ  tends  to  languishing. 
Our  only  hope  lies  in  the  divine  Spirit.  "Help  us,  O  God 
of  our  salvation,  for  the  glory  of  Thy  name;  and  deliver  us, 
and  purge  away  our  sins,  for  Thy  name's  sake." 


CHAPTER   LIV. 
White  Ribboners  and  Sabbath  Workers. 

Hurrying  home  from  the  Synod  of  1889  I  found  my 
"better  half"  busy  among  the  California  crusaders.  Mrs. 
Johnston's  life-work  had  been  largely  that  of  a  teacher;  not 
so  much  from  necessity  as  for  the  love  of  the  work.  The 
wine  cup  and  the  beer  and  whisky  saloons  were  the  curse  of 
the  golden  state.  After  the  burden  of  our  mission  work 
was  in  younger  hands,  Mrs.  Johnston  put  on  the  white 
ribbon  and  joined  in  the  battle  against  the  saloons.  After 
serving  awhile  in  the  department  of  literature,  in  the  fall  of 
1888  and  without  her  seeking  the  position,  the  White  Rib- 
boners  of  the  state  called  her  to  the  presidency  of  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  She  was  elected  to  this  honorable  and  useful 
position  not  because  she  was  a  Covenanter,  for  probably 
almost  none  out  of  our  own  city  knew  to  what  denomination 
she  belonged,  but  because  a  new  president  was  wanted, 
because  she  was  an  active  worker  in  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance, and  because  she  was  known  to  have  the  proper  quali- 
fications for  the  position.  Her  official  duties  called  her  away 
from  home  much  of  the  time.  Thus  more  home  duties  de- 
volved upon  me.  Besides,  our  home  daughter  who  con- 
tinued during  these  years  to  teach  in  the  Snell  Seminary 
was  called  to  the  presidency  of  the  Oakland  Y.'s,  the  junior 
department  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  -  Thus  neither  mother  nor 
daughter  had  any  time  to  attend  the  theater  or  the  dance  or 
the  social  party!  Was  it  not  a  w^onder  that  they  did  not 
pine  away  for  want  of  "society"?     The  reader  must  for- 

(532) 


WHITE    RIBKONERS    AND    SABBATH    WORKERS.  533 

give  the  exclamation  aud  the  question  alike,  for  the  writer 
has  more  pity  than  contempt  for  the  "society  women"  who 
are  unhappy  unless  they  can  live  in  a  round  of  worldly 
pleasures.  During  Mrs.  Johnston's  administration  of  be- 
tween two  and  three  years,  by .  her  devotion  to  the  cause, 
her  executive  ability,  and  her  kind  and  impartial  demeanor 
towards  the  good  women  of  the  state, *she  evidently  won 
their  favor  and  opened  the  wa}^  for  her  doing  very  much 
good  in  behalf  of  the  manj^  departments  of  benevolence 
connected  with  the  state  \V.  C.  T.  U.  But  with  some  other 
classes  she  did  not  grow  in  favor.  For  some  matters  in 
which  she  was  not  like  the  presidents  who  had  preceded 
her  she  was  the  subject  of  criticism  and  sometimes  severe. 
Nearly  all  the  women  were  hymn  singers.  In  all  places  she 
adhered  to  her  church's  creed  and  practise  as  to  the  exclu- 
sive use  of  the  inspired  Psalms  in  divine  worship.  In  the 
matter  of  Sabbath  observance  she  would  not  conform  to  the 
practise  of  the  people.  Many  of  the  women  of  the  W.  C- 
T.  U.  are  as  loose  in  their  sentiments  and  practises  as  to 
Sabbath  sanctification  as  are  the  average  California  Chris- 
tians; and  the  standard  is  low.  When  she  would  not  hold 
public  meetings  on  the  Sabbath  many  said  she  was  too 
strict.  Probabty  she  became  the  most  unpopular  with  some 
friends  of  the  secret  orders  because  she  did  not  honor  the 
Good  Templar  lodges.  To  ignore  them  was  as  offensive  as 
to  oppose  them. 

Mrs.  Johnston  was  re-elected  the  second  and  third  time, 
but  before  the  third  year  expired  she  resigned.  She 
thought  that  dut}'  called  us  east.  During  her  public  work 
as  a  White  Ribboner  I  endeavored  to  lighten  her  home 
duties  that  she  might  do  the  more  for  the  temperance  cause. 
Besides,  as  the  lady  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  observ- 
ance department  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  had  been  called  east, 
at  her  request  I  was  appointed  to  act  as  her  substitute  for  a 


534  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

while  and  especiallj-  during  the  campaign  in  behalf  of  a  state 
Sabbath  law.  The  explanation  is  this.  From  the  first, 
California  had  a  state  law  similar  to  those  of  the  other 
states.  It  had  become  almost  a  dead  letter.  The  liquor 
saloons,  which  the  law  required  to  be  closed  on  the  Sabbath, 
were  open  and  did  more  of  their  nefarious  business  on  the 
Lord's  day  than  on  any  other.  In  Oakland  and  some  other 
cities  a  special  effort  was  made  to  enforce  the  law  against  the 
open  saloons.  Of  course  the  saloonists  fought  against  the 
movement.  At  the  next  Legislature  almost  the  first  act 
passed  was  to  repeal  the  law.  Thus  this  great  golden  state 
had  no  Sabbath  except  the  "Sunday"  holida}-.  From  that 
day  until  now  both  intemperance  and  Sabbath  desecration 
have  been  on  the  increase.  While  in  several  localities  the 
temperance  reform  has  made  progress,  every  effort  to  restore 
the  old  ' '  Sundaj- ' '  law  or  to  procure  a  new  Sabbath  law  has 
resulted  in  failure.  Many  of  the  Christians  who  really  love 
the  Sabbath  sa}'  it  is  useless  to  trs'  to  get  a  law.  To  help 
the  good  women  and  because  of  interest  in  the  cause,  I 
gave  my  time  freely  to  the  work.  Pulpits  were  open  for 
preaching  in  favor  of  Sabbath  observance,  in  behalf  of 
civil  legislation  to  secure  rest  to  the  laborer,  and  to  punish 
Sabbath  desecration.  A  few  successful  conventions  were 
held,  literature  was  scattered,  and  petitions  for  a  Sabbath  law 
were  circulated.  In  that  campaign  our  main  effort  was  to 
besiege  the  Legislature  and  by  moral  influence  to  compel  them 
to  enact  a  good  law.  One  studied  address  was  given  b}^ 
invitation  before  the  annual  School  of  Methods  of  the 
\V.  C.  T.  U.  at  Pacific  Grove,  and  another,  upon  which 
special  labor  was  bestowed,  before  the  California  annual 
Methodist  Episcopal  Conference,  Bishop  Goodsell  presiding. 
In  all  these  special  ser^dces,  w^hether  in  the  pulpit  or  on  the 
platform,  I  was  peculiarh*  interested  because  they  gave  me 
opportunities  of  presenting  the  truth  in  reference  to  the 
claims  of  God's  law  upon  civil  government. 


■White  ribboneus  and  sabbath  workers.       535 

About  this  time  God  gave  us  the  privilege  and  the 
opportunity  to  give  a  home  to  our  aged  and  feeble  Mother 
Rogers  and  her  invalid  daughter  Nanc5^  They  had  been 
li\ing  at  her  home  in  Iowa,  but  owing  to  causes  beyond 
mother's  control  her  comfort  required  a  change.  We  invited 
her  to  bring  her  daughter  and  come  to  California  to  make 
her  home  with  us.  She  was  happy  with  her  oldest  daughter 
from  whom  she  had  been  separated  so  long  ;  and  her  presence 
was  a  blessing  to  us.  After  a  year  or  so  she  sickened  and 
slept  in  Jesus.  A  lovely  and  faithful  Christian  mother  had 
served  her  generation.  As  she  was  a  member  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church,  we  asked  two  of  our  most  loved  Con- 
gregational ministers  to  be  with  us  at  the  funeral  services, 
and  we  laid  away  her  mortal  part  in  our  lot  in  the  Mountain 
View  Cemetery  not  knowing  whose  grave  would  be  dug  next. 
As  we  turned  away  from  that  newly-made  grave  we  thought 
of  the  words  of  a  beautiful  writer :  "And  now  in  the  strife 
and  tumult  of  life,  when  the  cold  world  frowns  darkly  upon 
us,  her  gentle  words  come  back  bidding  us  look  above. 
Who  can  fathom  the  depths  of  a  mother's  love? " 


CHAPTER  IvV. 

From  Ocean  to  Ocean. 

The  love  of  home  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  love  of  the 
brotherhood  and  of  the  church.  The  Synod  of  1890  was  in 
New  York  City.  Home  duties  were  not  so  pressing  as  to 
prevent  me  from  attending,  and  I  had  a  strong  desire  to  be 
with  the  assembled  elders  once  more  and  thinking  it  would 
probably  be  the  last,  for  I  was  approaching  my  threescore 
and  ten  beyond  which  few  pass  except  those  blessed  with 
better  health  than  mine.  But  I  did  not  care  to  go  across  the 
continent  alone  if  I  could  have  good  company.  After  fre- 
quent famil3'  conferences  it  was  agreed  that  I  should  have  a 
traveling  companion  without  disturbing  the  relations  existing 
between  the  partner  of  ni}'  toil  and  the  state  W.  C.  T.  U. 
Our  daughter,  the  teacher,  needed  vacation  ;  she  had  never 
been  at  Synod  ;  and  she  wanted  to  see  the  east  and  visit  her 
Green  Mountain  birthplace.  Our  trunks  were  packed,  and 
we  bade  good-b}'  to  our  loved  home.  The  first  Sabbath  was 
spent  with  my  old-time  friend  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Rev.  Dr. 
McXiece.  From  Utah  we  passed  over  the  great  scenic  route, 
the  Rio  Grande,  to  Denver.  As  our  tickets  took  us  over  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  route,  our  second  Sabbath  was  spent  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  where  we  were  happih^  entertained  b}^ 
Dr.  Ingalls  and  wife.  She  is  my  niece,  the  daughter  of  my 
lamented  brother,  James  S.  Johnston.  As  there  was  no 
Reformed  Presbj'terian  Church  in  the  capital  city — it  is  not 
good  soil  for  the  growth  of  dissenters — we  were  "occasional 
hearers"  and  went  to  church  with  "Cousin  Lois  "  and  the 

(536) 


FROM  OCEAN  TO  OCEAN.  537 

doctor.  In  the  afternoon  I  heard  an  eloquent  colored 
preacher,  pastor  of  one  of  the  Congregational  Churches. 
How  is  it  that  our  colored  friends  monopolize  such  a  large 
share  of  pulpit  eloquence  and  good  church  music  ? 

Monday  or  Tuesday  was  Independence  day.  In  the 
National  Soldiers'  Cemetery  we  attended  a  great  public 
meeting  and  heard  some  good  speeches  and  some  others  more 
spread-eagle  than  good.  In  the  afternoon  we  went  down 
the  Potomac  to  Alexandria  and  visited  the  grave  of  Corporal 
Charles  Divoll,  The  first  time  I  had  seen  it  was  only  a  half 
hour  after  it  was  made.  Now  it  was  all  sodded  and  green.  I 
pulled  some  grasses  from  it  to  take  to  his  father  and  sister  in 
Vermont  and  bade  farewell  to  a  grave  not  to  be  seen  again 
but  not  to  be  forgotten. 

On  our  arrival  at  New  York  my  daughter  and  I  were  sep- 
arated as  to  our  places  of  entertainment.  I  was  most  favor- 
ably located  near  the  church  (Second  New  York)  in  which 
Synod's  sessions  were  held  and  in  a  family  so  good  and  so 
kind  that  they  soon  became  endeared  to  me — the  family 
of  Mr.  William  McClean.  And  here  again  my  lifelong 
friend  and  brother,  Rev.  J.  M.  Armour,  was  my  "chum." 
Who  was  it  that  said:  "Fortune  favors  the  brave?"  My 
daughter  was  kindly  entertained  in  the  family  of  Mr.  W.  H. 
Cochran,  a  member  of  the  Boulevard  Mission  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  city.  Our  acquaintance  happened  in  this 
way.  Some  years  previous,  Mr.  Cochran  had  business  in 
San  Francisco  and  knowing  of  the  mission  in  Oakland  came 
on  Sabbath  to  worship  with  us.  We  invited  him  to  make 
his  home  with  us.  For  several  days  he  was  quite  sick. 
Mrs.  Johnston  took  care  of  him  and  "doctored"  him  hy- 
gienically.  He  was  grateful.  W^hen  he  learned  that  our 
daughter  intended  to  go  to  New  York  to  Synod  he  invited 
her  to  be  a  guest  in  his  family.  She  accepted.  On  "-Sab- 
bath she  worshiped  in  Boulevard  Mission,  Rev.  T.  Holmes 


53^  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   vSUNSET    LAND. 

Walker  being  the  missionary  in  charge.  In  the  afternoon 
the  Sabbath-school  met  and  had  some  special  exercises.  As 
Rosie  had  been  a  teacher  in  the  Chinese  misaon,  probably 
at  Mr.  Cochran's  suggestion  Mr.  Walker  asked  her  to 
address  the  Sabbath-school  in  reference  to  the  work  in 
Oakland.  She  did  so;  and  the  missionary  in  charge  must 
have  been  pleased  with  the  address, .and  perchance  with  the 
5'oung  woman  also,  for  we  may  hear  something  more  about 
them  after  a  while. 

Two  important  questions  engaged  the  special  attention  of 
the  Synod,  viz.  Organic  Church  Union,  and  a  foreign  mis- 
sion to  China.  In  the  discussion  of  the  former  much  time 
was  consumed,  and  it  took  the  form  of  a  debate  in  which 
much  warmth  of  feeling  was  evolved.  The  question  came 
before  Synod  by  the  report  of  a  committee  that  had  been  in 
correspondence  with  a  similar  committee  from  the  "General 
Synod"  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  /.  e.,  the 
"New  Light"  body.  The  committee  reported  a  basis  of 
union  with  that  body.  Two  delegates  were  present  from  the 
"General  Synod"  to  advocate  the  proposed  union  of  the  two 
bodies.  The  plan  devised  was  to  unite  the  two  with  the 
declared  understanding  or  agreement  that  holding  office  or 
voting  under  the  United  States  Constitution  should  be  made 
a  matter  of  forbearance,  or  that  dissent  from  the  government 
should  not  be  a  term  of  communion.  (I  write  from  memory 
as  I  have  no  copy  of  minutes  available.)  After  long  discus- 
sion during  parts  of  two  days,  the  proposition  for  the  iniion 
on  that  condition  was  voted  down  b}^  a  large  or  decided 
majority.  The  next  year  shortly  after  Synod  many  of  those 
who  favored  the  union  on  the  specified  terms  left  the  church 
and  went  into  other  bodies.  They  favored  union  probably 
not  because  they  themselves  wished  to  vote  or  hold  office  in 
the  government  but  because  they  favored  organic  union  on 
the  principle  of  forbearance  on  "questions  of  interpretation." 


FROM  OCEAN  TO  OCEAN.  539 

The  majority  believed  that  it  would  be  the  abandonment  of 
the  old  and  clearly-defined  position  of  the  church  or  civil 
government.  Besides,  if  the  union  of  the  two  bodies  had 
been  consummated  it  would  ha\'e  been  by  the  abandonment, 
on  the  part  of  the  larger,  of  the  very  truth  on  account  of 
adherence  to  which  the  smaller  had  gone  off  in  1833.  More- 
over, if  the  two  bodies  had  been  combined  into  one  the  lack 
or  cohesive  attraction  would  most  likely  have  made  the 
united  church  onl}^  a  divided  union.  Union  that  is  only  a 
compact  is  not  union.  Nothing  but  real  unity  will  satisfy 
the  Head  of  the  church. 

On  the  question  of  inagurating  a  new  foreign  mission  in 
China  there  was  diversity  of  sentiment.  The  Foreign  Board 
did  not  favor  it.  Some  prominent  men  in  Synod  opposed  it. 
Rev.  Dr.  Metheny,  the  .senior  missionary  in  Turkey,  was 
present  and  plead  earnestly  and  powerfully  for  it;  and  for 
its  support  he  pledged  thousands  of  dollars  or  nearly  enough 
to  make  it  a  financial  success  from  the  first.  A  few  others, 
among  whom  was  the  retired  missionary  from  the  Oakland 
Chinese  mission,  favored  the  new  mission  and  helped  our 
earnest  foreign  missionary  all  he  could.  But  Synod  was  not 
ready  to  begin  the  work,  and  the  matter  was  referred  to  the 
Board.     The  cause  was  deferred  but  not  lost. 

After  vSynod  daughter  and  I  started  for  Vermont  to  take 
in  Boston  by  the  wa3\  Here  we  spent  the  Sabbath  with 
Mrs.  Clara  McFall,  widow  of  the  Rev.  David  McFall,  and 
daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  A.  M.  Milligan.  At  her  invitation 
President  W.  P.  Johnston  preached  a  memorial  sermon.  It 
was  in  his  own  peculiar  and  beautiful  style.  While  we 
tarried  in  Boston  we  visited  the  grave  of  Wendell  Phillips 
who  had  recently  been  numbered  among  the  dead.  We  had 
not  time  to  go  out  into  the  country  to  the  grave  of  William 
lyloyd  Garrison  but  we  called  upon  his  two  sons  resident  in 
the  cit3^     As  honorable  and  loyal  sons  they  have  a  profound 


540  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

and  affectionate  regard  for  their  father  as  the  acknowledged 
leader  in  the  great  anti-slavery  movement  that  culminated  in 
the  emancipation  of  the  slaves. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  Rev.  J.  C.  K.  Paris,  pastor  of 
Topsham  Vermont  congregation,  I  was  expected  to  assist 
him  at  his  communion  on  the  Sabbath  following;  but  while 
we  were  in  Boston  I  received  word  from  him  that  owing  to 
sickness  and  death  in  his  family  the  communion  had  been 
postponed  for  a  time.  Accordingly  we  went  from  Boston  to 
Ryegate  and  visited  with  my  good  friend,  Elder  William 
Bone,  and  with  other  friends,  and  thence  to  vSt.  Johnslniry  to 
visit  my  earlier  friends,  Mr.  Renwick  McNiece  and  wife, 
formerly  Ellen  George,  whose  home  had  been  so  long  oppo- 
site the  Topsham  parsonage.  We  remained  in  vSt.  Johns- 
bury  over  Sabbath  and  I  pre.iched  in  the  Reformed  Presby- 
terian Church  who.se  pulpit  was  vacant. 

During  the  following  week  we  found  our  way  to  Topsham 
and  were  welcomed  to  the  house  of  my  old  and  ever-loved 
friend.  Elder  Josiah  Divoll.  We  had  not  seen  each  other  for 
about  eighteen  years.  When  we  met  he  grasped  my  hand 
and  said:  "For  a  long  time  there  has  been  no  man  on  earth 
I  was  so  anxious  to  see  as  my  old  pastor,  and  now  I  thank 
God  I  have  lived  to  see  you  once  more."  As  his  wife  had 
been  removed  by  death,  his  widowed  daughter,  Mrs.  Emily 
Taggart,  was  now  his  housekeeper.  I  can  not  tell  how  glad 
I  was  to  be  at  home  with  such  old-time  friends.  On  the 
adjacent  lot  was  the  old  parsonage  now  occupied  by  the 
pastor  and  family.  As  it  was  my  daughter's  birthplace  and 
as  she  had  not  seen  it  since  she  was  a  child  she  was  glad  to 
inspect  it  both  inside  and  out  and  drink  again  from  its  cold 
water  fountain. 

While  we  lingered  among  the  old  famihar  hills  and  friends 
of  bygone  days  I  greatly  enjoyed  the  fellowship  of  the  saints 
during  the  communion  season  while  assisting  Pastor  Faris. 


FROM  OCEAN  TO  OCEAN.  54I 

After  this  I  had  a  feast  of  happy  reminiscences  at  a  reunion 
of  the  surviving-  students  of  the  Topsham  Normal  School  of 
former  years.  This  happy  meeting  was  due  to  the  efforts 
of  Mrs.  Taggart  and  her  sister  who  had  invited  others  from 
distant  places  and  arranged  for  the  reunion  in  the  grove  and 
for  appropriate  reminiscent  exercises.  It  was  only  natural 
that  I  should  be  expected  to  help  to  call  up  the  events  of 
former  years.  The  long  roll  was  called  in  mingled  jo}?-  and 
sadness  while  the  past  and  the  present  of  many  whose  names 
were  on  it  were  narrated  briefly  by  some  one  present.  Hours 
of  joy  were  spent  in  happy  recollections.  They  were  fol- 
lowed by  prayer  and  by  singing  one  of  the  old  familiar 
Psalms.  On  memory's  page  that  reunion  is  written  indel- 
ibly. When  afterwards  we  bade  good-by  to  Topsham  I  did 
not  expect  ever  to  see  it  again.  During  these  weeks  the 
Northfield,  Mass.,  meetings  were  in  se.ssion.  We  left  Top- 
sham in  time  to  be  at  the  students'  convention.  At  "The 
Northfield,"  where  we  were  boarders,  we  found  ourselves 
in  the  company  of  representatives  of  the  best  people  of  New 
England,  Christian  people  interested  in  all  that  was  meant 
by  Mr.  Moody's  schools  and  vacation  conventions.  During 
the  days  of  the  students'  meetings  some  addresses  were  given 
by  representatives  of  the  ablest  and  best  men  in  the  country, 
and  one  or  two  from  London.  Those  meetings  owed  their 
life  and  influence  for  good  very  largely  to  Mr.  Moody's 
power  over  them  to  shape  them  at  his  will.  His  word  was 
law;  his  control  almost  absolute.  All  this  is  owing  to  the 
entire  confidence  of  good  people  in  Mr.  Moody's  integrity 
both  of  motive  and  aim.  Mr.  Sankey's  singing  also  added 
interest  to  the  meetings. 

Northfield,  where  Mr.  Moody's  schools  are  located,  is  a 
most  beautiful  spot.  The  buildings,  the  grounds,  the  Con- 
necticut River,  and  the  whole  landscape,  make  it  charming. 
But  the  best  thing  about  it  is  its  moral  and  religious  atnios- 


542  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSKT    LAND. 

phere.  This  and  its  absolute  freedom  from  almost  all  that 
would  tempt  youth  to  go  astray  probably  make  Northfield  as 
safe  a  place  for  the  education  of  children  of  religious  parents 
as  can  be  found  on  the  continent.  Of  course  in  this  state- 
ment I  refer  only  to  evangelical  influences  in  general  and 
not  to  denominational.  If  I  had  a  son  or  a  daughter  whom  I 
wished  to  educate  I  would  not  send  him  to  Mt.  Hermon  or 
her  to  the  Northfield  Girls'  vSchool.  I  would  fear  that  the 
undenominational  influences  and  the  great  advantages  of 
the  institutions  would  tempt  the  student  to  believe  that  such 
truths  as  we  call  "distinctive"  are  of  such  comixiratively 
trivial  importance  that  we  need  not  adhere  to  these  and  that 
there  is  no  need  for  the  little  Covenanter  Church,  a  statement 
to  which  I  could  give  assent  no  not  for  a  moment.  As  a 
father  I  would  have  no  right  to  expose  my  child  to  such 
temptations.  The  desired  education  can  be  obtained  else- 
where. If  not,  I  would  keep  my  child  at  home  and  educate 
her  m^'self  or'emplo}'  another.  And  right  here  I  wish  to  say 
that  my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  is  that  our  own 
Geneva  could  be  made  as  free  from  temptation  as  is  North- 
field.  If  the  whole  moral  and  religious  atmosphere  on  and 
around  College  Hill  could  be  as  pure  as  that  of  the  Moody 
schools,  Geneva  would  be  an  educational  paradise.  \\'h>' 
may  it  not  be  yet  ? 

Bidding  good-b}'  to  New  England's  beautiful  hills  and  for- 
ests and  streams — nowhere  are  there  an}'  more  beautiful — we 
turned  our  faces  toward  the  Pacific  Coast  stopping  only  at 
Niagara  Falls,  which  daughter  had  not  seen,  and  to  \4sit 
very  briefly  among  our  Ohio  friends  and  once  more  to  see 
my  mother's  grave. 

Shortly  after  our  return  from  Synod  official  duties  called 
me  to  Seattle.  A  Presbyterial  commission  had  been  appointed 
to  organize  a  congregation  there  and  to  ordain  and  instal 
licentiate  Dell  Johnston   as  pastor.     His  father,  Rev.  N.  M. 


FROM  OCEAN  TO  OCEAN.  543 

Johnston,  was  the  moderator  or  chairman  of  the  commission, 
two  elders  near  Seattle  the  other  members,  and  Professor  J.  K. 
McClurkin  of  the  Allegheny  Theological  Seminary  and  my- 
self added  members.    Professor  McClurkin, who  was  making  a 
tour  of  the  coast,  spent  the  Sabbath  previous  to  the  meeting  of 
the  commission  in  Oakland  and  preached  in  the  mission.     I 
was  charmed  with  his  service.    His  preaching  was  more  than 
goo4;  it  was  beautiful  and  full  of  instruction.     On  our  jour- 
ney to  Seattle  we  traveled  together  as  far  as  Albany,  Oregon, 
where  he  stopped  over  one  day.      I  learned  to  love  the  man. 
At  Seattle  we  lodged  in  the  same  hou.se,  ate  our  meals  at  the 
.same   table,  and   worshiped   together  in   our  private  parlor 
morning  and  evening  for  about  a  week.     The  more  I  .saw  of 
him  the  more  I  loved  him;  but  it  did  not  take  long  to  see 
that  he   was  a   very   liberal  Covenanter  and   that   he   held 
views,   especially  on   organic    church    union,    altogether  at 
variance  with  our  distinctive   principles.      In  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  congregation  and  in  the  examination  and  ordi- 
nation of  the  officers  we  met  with  serious  difficulties.     Two 
of  said  officers  elect  held  loo.se  and  erroneous  views  on  sev- 
eral points  in  our  distinctive  principles.     One  did  not  give 
his  consent  and  adherence  to  the  church's  position  anent  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  inspired  Psalms  in  divine  worship;  and 
the  other  did  not  subscribe  to  her  po.sition  on  political  dis- 
sent, though  he  promi.sed  that  as  long  as  he  would  remain 
in  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  he  would  refrain  from 
the  use  of  the  ballot  at  political  elections.     All  the  members 
of  the  commission  except  myself  voted  to  sustain  the  exami- 
nation.    I  disapproved  and  entered  my  dissent;  but  as  I  did 
not  wish  to  give  the  new  organization  or  the  young  pastor 
any  trouble  I  told  the  commission   I  would  not  carr>-  the 
case  to  Presbytery  or  make  complaint.    Subsequently  I  feared 
that  in  this  I  had  erred.     Perhaps  faithfulness  to  the  church 
would  have   required  me  to  complain  or  report  the  case  to 


544  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSKT    LAND. 

Presbytery.  Whether  or  not,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  both 
those  officers  (one  an  elder  and  the  other  a  deacon  if  I  do 
not  forget)  not  ver^^  long  afterwards  left  the  church.  Nor 
is  this  all.  The  other  two  ministers  on  the  commission,  as 
well  as  the  young  pastor  installed  and  the  two  elders  on  the 
commission,  all  left  the  Covenanter  Church  not  long  after- 
wards. At  that  time  liberalism  was  growing  and  leavening 
the  bod}"  rapidly.  Yet  it  is  cause  of  gratitude  to  the  Head 
of  the  church  that  he  did  not  permit  the  young  pastor  of 
Seattle  to  take  away  with  him  all  the  people.  The  majority 
proved  faithful  and  amid  all  their  discouragements  remained 
true  to  Christ  and  his  church.  The  organization  continued, 
asked  for  supplies,  and  now  has  a  young  and  lo^^al  pastor. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  never  abandon  the  testimony 
of  Jesus.  lyong  may  the  old  blue  banner  wave  in  that  beau- 
tiful city  on  Puget  Sound. 

The  evening  before  leaving  Seattle  I  read  in  the  daily 
news  that  a  large  company  of  Chinese,  nineteen  or  twenty 
in  number,  had  been  seized  by  the  United  States  marshal 
some  place  north  and  near  the  boundary  line,  charged  with 
coming  over  the  line  into  United  States  territor^^  They 
had  been  taken  to  Tacoma  and  were  Wing  in  jail  awaiting 
trial  for  violating  United  States  law  forbidding  any  Mongo- 
lian to  come  over  the  line.  The  next  da}^  on  my  waj^  home 
I  stopped  at  Tacoma  and  gained  permission  to  enter  the  jail 
to  see  the  prisoners.  A  3^oung  Chinese  Christian  whom  I 
had  met  in  Seattle  had  gone  to  Tacoma.  Hunting  him  up 
I  took  him  into  the  jail  with  me  presuming  that  I  might 
need  an  interpreter.  My  object  was  to  ascertain  from  them- 
selves whether  or  not  they  had  violated  the  law  by  coming 
over  from  British  Columbia.  I  could  not  certainh^  discover 
that  any  one  of  them  had.  Several  of  them  had  gone  up 
toward  that  northern  boundary  and  near  to  Whatcom  in 
search    of  work.      They    were    arrested    on    suspicion    and 


FROM  OCKAN  TO  OCEAN.  545 

brought  to  Tacoma  to  be  lodged  in  prison.  I  conferred 
with  some  of  the  officers  of  law  and  ascertained  that  I  could 
do  nothing  to  release  the  prisoners  nor  to  secure  justice  to 
them  even  if  I  could  remain  until  the  time  of  the  trial. 
This  I  could  not  do.  So  I  departed  homeward  praying 
that  God  would  befriend  the  poor  men  who  had  done  no 
wrong  and  that  he  would  "rid  them  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  wicked."  At  the  trial  they  were  found  guilty — guilty 
of  what? — and  sent  to  the  territorial  penitentiary  at  Olympia 
for  a  term  of  I  think  three  j^ears.  Such  was  a  specimen  of 
the  working  of  a  Federal  law  almost  as  iniquitous  as  the 
fugitive  slave  law  of  1850.  And  this  anti-Chinese  law  is 
still  in  force.  The  people  have  become  accustomed  to  it 
and  are  unconcerned  about  it  even  if  some  of  them  disap- 
prove of  it.  For  this  and  all  the  Chinese  exclusion  laws 
God  will  surely  smite  the  nation  yet.  "  He  forgetteth  not 
the  cry  of  the  humble." 


35 


CHAPTER    IvVI. 

In  Philadelphia  as  a  Journalist. 

Sometime  during  the  autumn  of  1890  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  publishers  of  Our  Banner,  a  religious  monthly 
magazine  and  recognized  as  one  of  the  organs  of  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church.  At  first  it  had  been  owned  and  edited 
by  three  church  pastors,  Rev.  J.  C.  K.  Millig^an  and  Rev. 
Da\'id  Gregg,  both  of  New  York  Cit}-,  and  Rev.  J.  Boggs 
of  Brooklyn.  After  a  while  it  passed  over  to  the  ownership 
of  the  Christian  Statesman  Publishing  Companj^  of  Phila- 
delphia and  w^as  edited  b}-  Rev.  J.  C.  K.  Milligan  alone. 
Partly  owing  to  the  editor's  views  on  church  union  and 
communion,  and  partly  because  the  magazine  was  not  a 
financial  success,  the  publishers  wished  to  get  rid  of  it  in 
the  hope  that  it  would  be  a  better  exponent  of  the  principles 
of  the  church.  These  and  perhaps  other  reasons  led  to  the 
opening  of  a  correspondence  in  reference  to  the  transfer  of 
the  magazine.  Prior  to  the  reception  of  the  letter  I  had 
no  expectation  of  anything' of  the  kind.  It  took  me  wholly 
by  surprise.  The  owners  offered  to  sell  the  magazine  to 
me  and  give  me  entire  control  of  its  pages.  This  led  me 
into  a  strait;  I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  I  tried  to  seek 
divine  direction.  In  the  family  it  was  a  subject  of  free 
conference,  and  all  thought  I  should  accept  the  charge  of 
the  Banner.  They  said  it  would  give  me  an  opportunity 
of  doing  good  in  the  propagation  of  the  truth  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  church.  Besides,  there  was  a  probability 
that  after  a   while    both   our  daughters   would    go  east  to 

(546) 


IN   PHILADELPHIA   AS   A  JOURNALIST.  547 

reside;  and  then  we  would  not  be  so  far  separated  from 
them.  But  the  financial  problem  was  difficult.  To  meet 
it  I  had  to  incur  debt.  This  proved  to  be  a  snare  and  a 
burden  and  hindrance  to  success.  But  like  others  I  thought 
I  could  "worry  through"  and  be  free  from  debt  after  a  while. 
And  so  the  correspondence  after  a  month  or  so  resulted  in 
my  purchase  of  the  magazine,  the  new  ownership  to  begin 
with  the  beginning  of  the  next  volume,  January  i,  1891. 
Meanwhile  we  hastened  to  adjust  our  affairs  in  Oakland 
hoping  to  be  in  Philadelphia  in  time  to  issue  the  January 
number  of  Our  Banner.  This  proposed  change  made  it 
necessary  to  leave  behind  us  both  our  daughters.  Mary,  or 
Mrs.  Kirkpatrick,  now  the  mother  of  several  little  boys, 
was  residing  in  Oakland,  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  being  a  sheep 
rancher  out  in  the  interior.  Rosie  was  a  teacher  in  the 
seminary  where  she  had  graduated.  Mrs.  Johnston  was 
hard  at  work  in  the  third  year  of  the  presidency  of  the 
state  W.  C.  T.  U.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  state  Board 
she  sent  in  her  resignation. 

It  is  due  to  the  truth  as  well  as  to  its  advocate  to  add 
that  here  during  the  years  in  which  Mrs  Johnston  was 
active  in  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  work  I  am  persuaded  that  she 
had  greater  influence  and  greater  controlling  power  than  is 
ordinarily  exercised  by  women  in  similar  positions.  This 
was  owing  not  so  much  to  her  natural  and  acquired  ability 
to  lead  or  to  govern  as  to  the  power  of  the  truths  which  she 
ever  maintained.  She  kept  in  view  the  important  distinct- 
ive principles  of  the  church  and  they  controlled  her  actions 
and  her  utterances  in  public.  By  her  thorough  belief  in 
them  she  was  better  able  to  resist  temptations  to  yield  to 
the  popular  will. 

About  the  time  of  the  winter  holidays  we  bade  good-by 
to  Oakland  friends  and  were  soon  on  board  the  overland 
train  taking  with  us  our  little  adopted  daughter,  Gracie.     It 


548  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND. 

was  midwinter.  Saturday  night  came  on  us  at  Cheyenne, 
Wyoming.  Here  we  stopped  and  spent  the  Sabbath.  The 
weather  was  intensely  cold.  As  we  had  not  seen  an  eastern 
winter  for  fifteen  years  we  not  only  felt  the  cold  severely 
but  dreaded  the  eastern  winters  so  much  we  almost  relented 
that  we  had  left  our  winterless  climate  in  California. 

As  we  had  a  section  in  a  Pullman  from  Oakland  through 
to  Philadelphia,  I  took  some  spare  time  en  route  to  write 
letters  to  several  of  the  brethren  asking  contributions  for 
Our  Banner.  I  wrote  also  to  the  editors  and  owners  of 
the  Reformed  Presbyterian  and  Covenanter  offering  to  buy 
their  magazine  that  I  might  combine  the  two,  for  it  was 
manifest  that  the  constituency  in  the  church  was  too  small 
to  give  both  magazines  a  good  support.  And  I  offered, 
if  they  preferred  it,  to  unite  with  them  in  the  publishing 
and  editing  of  the  combined  monthly.  I  am  not  sure  now 
that  this  .second  offer  was  made  'during  that  journey  to 
Philadelphia,  but,  if  not,  it  was  made  subsequently  and  in 
several  modified  forms 

On  our  arrival  at  Philadelphia  we  went  directly  to  a  hotel 
and  asked  for  a  room  with  an  open  grate  and  blazing  fire, 
a  rare  luxur>^  in  that  old  city  of  brotherly  love.  The  first 
man  to  call  on  us  and  welcome  us  was  Rev.  J.  C.  McFeters, 
pastor  of  the  Second  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church.  Prior 
to  this  our  acquaintance  was  slight.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  a  friendship  that  subsequently  ripened  into  a  brotherly 
love  that  is  imperishable.  He  invited  us  to  be  his  guests 
until  we  could  find  a  house  in  which  to  live.  Thankfully 
we  declined  the  invitation  and  very  soon  afterwards  took  a 
room  in  a  private  house  in  which  we  lodged,  going  out  for 
our  meals  until  our  household  goods  arrived  by  freight. 

Meanwhile  I  busied  myself  looking  after  Our  Banner. 
Prior  to  this  both  journals  had  been  published  b}--  the 
Christian  Statesman  Company,  and  if  both  were  taken  by 


IN   PHILADELPHIA   AS   A   JOURNALIST.  549 

the  same  subscriber  the  price  of  the  two  was  greatly  reduced, 
I  divorced  the  magazine  from  the  weekly,  and  after  the 
January  number  I  had  the  magazine  printed  by  another 
company  onlj-  a  few  doors  from  the  old  Covenanter  Cherr}- 
Street  Church.  This  was  now  owned  by  a  congregation  of 
colored  Baptists.  It  was  the  house  in  which  the  Synod  of 
1833  had  assembled  and  out  of  which  the  "old-side  Cov- 
enanters" came  when  a  suspended  New  Light  took  the 
moderator's  chair  and  from  which  the  Comeouters  marched 
two  and  two  to  another  house  to  constitute  the  loyal  and 
regular  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  ever 
since  called  "Old  Light. "  What  the  character  of  the  maga- 
zine was  after  the  new  editor  took  charge  of  it  is  known 
best  by  those  who  read  it  during  the  three  and  a  half  years 
of  its  continuance.  All  that  I  wish  to  say  here  and  now 
is  this,  that  I  entered  upon  the  work  with  fear  and  anxiety, 
for  I  knew  that  it  was  difficult  as  well  as  responsible;  and 
all  the  more  difficult  because  of  the  condition  of  the  church 
then  more  critical  than  prior  to  or  at  the  division  of  1883. 
I  tried  to  commit  myself  to  Him  whom  I  had  resolved  to 
serve  and  glorify  by  the  use  of  my  pen;  and  I  entered  upon 
the  work  with  full  faith  iu  Him  as  the  Author  of  the  truth 
whose  organ  the  Banner  had  promised  to  be.  The  cover 
title-page  had  a  beautiful  cut  of  a  flagstaff  and  floating 
banner  which  bore  the  words  "For  Christ's  Crown  and 
Covenant."  Underneath  were  these,  "  Our  Banner,'"  in 
large  letters  and  then,  "Devoted  to  the  principles  and  inter- 
ests of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church;"  and  then  the 
quotation,  "We  will  rejoice  in  thy  salvation,  and  in  the 
name  of  our  God  we  will  set  up  our  banners."  I  liked 
that  floating  banner  with  its  grand  old  motto,  and  I  never 
was  ashamed  of  the  principles  to  which  the  magazine  was 
devoted.  And  more  here:  I  hope  that  none  of  the  descend- 
ants of  the  editor  will  ever  be  ashamed  of  them  or  love  them 


550  tOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

less  than  he  did.  They  will  triumph  yet,  but  not  until  "the 
good  time  coming"  comes.      "  Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth." 

While  we  were  waiting  for  our  household  goods,  and  it 
was  several  weeks,  we  lodged  near  the  Second  Church.  It 
was  most  convenient  for  us  to  go  thither.  Otherwise  we 
would  have  been  more  likely  to  attend  the  First  Church 
with  whose  pastor  and  people,  especially  of  the  former 
generation,  I  had  been  better  acquainted.  As  time  passed 
we  began  to  feel  at  home  with  the  good  people  and  from 
the  first  to  enjoy  the  Word  preached  by  the  pastor  almost 
every  sentence  of  whose  sermons  contained  some  beautiful 
simile.  An  unoccupied  pew  was  kindly  offered  for  our  use. 
Mrs.  Johnston  handed  in  her  certificate  to  the  session  and 
"little  Gracie"  attended  the  Sabbath-school.  Thus  it  was 
for  the  time  our  church  home,  though  I  attended  the  other 
sometimes  and  occasionally  preached  in  the  pulpit.  The 
Third  Church  was  so  far  distant  I  was  rarely  there.  At 
the  proper  time  I  was  transferred  to  the  Philadelphia  Pres- 
bytery; and  I  so  loved  the  brethren  of  it  that  even  after  I 
removed  from  its  bounds  I  did  not  care  to  ask  a  change. 

When  Our  Banner  came  into  my  hands  there  w^ere  other 
journals  that  asked  and  depended  upon  the  patronage  of 
Covenanters,  and  in  a  loose  sense  they  were  church  organs. 
The  Reformed  Presbyterian  aiid  Coveiianter^  issued  at 
Pittsburg,  and  the  Herald  of  Mission  News,  of  New  York, 
were  monthlies.  The  Christian  Nation,  of  New  York  also, 
was  a  weekly.  The  Reformed  Presbyteria^i  a)id  Covenanter 
was  the  oldest  and  so  had  the  advantage  of  the  others.  The 
Bajtner  had  been  started  somewhat  as  a  rival  monthly,  ask- 
ing for  patronage  as  a  second  organ  of  the  church.  The 
Herald  was  devoted  to  missions,  especially  foreign,  and  was 
ably  edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Sommerville,  secretary  of  the  For- 
eign Board.  The  Christian  Nation,  the  weekly,  had  been 
started  by  Mr.  John  W.  Pritchard  as  a  kind  of  rival  of  the 


IN   PHILADELPHIA    AS   A   JOURNALl:-T.  55I 

Christian  Statesman,  the  organ  of  the  National  Reform 
Association  and  ably  edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  T.  P.  Stevenson 
and  Rev.  Dr.  Mcx\llister.  The  Statesman,  also,  depended 
largely  for  its  support  upon  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church  or  people.  When  those  two  monthlies  and, the  two 
w-eeklies  all  clamored  for  church  patronage,  how^  could  Our 
Banner  expect  a  hirge  subscription  Hst  ? 

It  could  hope  to  live  at  all  only  by  being  worthy  of  the 
favor  of  the  friends  of  the  truth  who  w^ere  not  fully  satisfied 
wdth  the  other  journals  or  unless  they  could  aiford  to  take 
all  of  them  or  more  than  one.  And  thus  it  happened  that 
the  Blue  Ban>ier  never  enriched  its  proprietor  nor  was  read 
by  more  than  a  portion  of  the  church.  If  it  had  any  claims 
more  than  the  others  it  was  because  of  the  truths  it  main- 
tained or  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted.  It  came 
into  our  hands  in  a  very  stormy  time  in  the  church  and 
during  the  agitation  that  followed  the  issuance  of  the  "East 
End"  declaration  or  platform,  and  only  four  or  five  months 
before  the  Synod  of  189 1  at  which  occurred  the  "great  trial" 
of  those  who  had  signed  that  "East  End  platform."  At 
and  soon  after  that  Synod  many  ministers  and  people 
left  the  church  because  of  the  action  of  Synod.  As  the 
Banner  justified  the  action  of  Synod,  at  least  in  the  main 
question  at  issue,  many  of  the  patrons  of  the  magazine  ceased 
to  take  it.  Then  as  the  Banner  ceased  to  club  at  reduced 
rates  with  the  Christian  Statesman,  some  dropped  the  former 
because  they  could  not  get  it  for  less  than  a  dollar.  There 
was  yet  another  cause  of  the  diminution  of  the  subscription 
list.  When  it  came  into  our  possession,  hundreds  were 
delinquent,  owing  both  the  Banner  and  the  Statesman. 
According  to  contract  wdth  the  Statesman  company  the  dues 
to  the  Banner  were  to  be  paid  to  the  proprietor  of  the  Banner. 
After  a  while  w^e  sent  bills  to  the  delinquents  accompanied 
by  an  explanatory  circular.      A  large  proportion  of  them 


552  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

declined  or  neglected  to  pa}',  and  most  of  them  finalh'  dis- 
continued the  magazine  without  paying  their  dues.  All 
these  causes  tended  to  cut  down  the  subscription  list;  and 
the  Banjiej-  could  not  have  survived  at  all  if  it  had  not  been 
that  from  all  parts  of  the  church  new  subscribers  continued 
to  come  in  to  supply  in  part  the  loss  from  the  causes 
mentioned. 

During  the  Synod  of  '91,  which  met  at  Pittsburg,  in  fulfil- 
ment of  promise  and  assisted  b}'  Rev.  T.  H.  Walker  of  New 
York,  I  took  full  reports  of  the  "great  trial,"  as  it  was 
called  afterwards,  and  published  them  in  an  extra  Banjier. 
The  taking  of  the  reports,  some  parts  of  which  were  very 
copious,  and  sending  them  oflf  every  day  to  the  press  in 
Philadelphia,  involved  much  hard  work  as  well  as  anxiety 
to  be  able  to  give  a  fair  and  impartial  report.  For  most 
efficient  help  especially  in  copying,  which  had  to  be  done 
during  the  recesses  and  mostly  at  night,  I  was  greatly 
indebted  to  my  young  brother,  Mr.  Walker.  Several  nights 
after  late  sessions  of  Synod  we  did  not  retire  to  rest  until 
after  midnight.  And  I  wish  to  record  here  how  much  I 
was  indebted  to  my  lifelong  friend  and  benefactor,  Mrs. 
Oudry,  of  Allegheny,  with  whom  we  were  guests  during 
Synod.  All  that  was  necessary  to  make  her  friends  com- 
fortable was  alwa^'s  done  and  supplied ;  and  all  for  the 
Master's  sake,  for  she  loved  Him  as  Mary  loved  her  lyord. 

That  was  indeed  an  important  as  well  as  sad  Synod. 
Looking  back  upon  it  now  after  the  lapse  of  over  six  years 
I  can  judge  with  more  accuracy  of  the  character  of  its 
actions.     A  few  facts  ma^^  be  stated: 

1 .  Others  and  older  men  in  different  parts  of  the  church 
were  more  culpable  than  the  young  men  in  Pittsburg 
Presbytery  who  were  under  trial. 

2.  Some  of  the  3'oung  men  who  were  condemned  were 
better  all-round  Covenanters  than  some  who  were  most  active 
in  the  prosecution  or  the  most  ready  to  condemn. 


IN   PHIIvADETvPHIA    AS   A  JOURNALIST.  553 

3.  Lack  of  brotherly  love  or  personal  dislike  had  some- 
thing if  not  much  to  do  in  influencing  the  votes  that  decided 
the  issue. 

4.  The  trial  did  not  indicate  the  real  character  of  the 
questions  upon  which  the  church  was  divided. 

5.  Two  or  three  of  the  young  men  on  trial  said  more 
when  making  their  own  defense  to  merit  censure  than  for 
their  action  as  to  the  "East  End  Platform." 

6.  It  would  have  been  better  for  the  cause  of  truth  if  both 
the  prosecutors  who  represented  Pitt.sburg  Presbytery  had 
been  known  by  the  church  and  Synod  to  be  sound  in  the 
faith  on  questions  gcTmane  to  the  one  involved  in  the  trial. 

7.  The  trial  was  conducted  too  much  in  the  manner  of 
the  civil  courts.  Too  often  the  contention  seemed  to  be  for 
the  mastery.  Nevertheless,  that  the  final  effect  of  the  trial 
would  be  good  was  at  that  time  the  hope  of  the  Banner. 
This  is  manifest  by  what  was  written  by  the  editor  in  the 
first  issue  after  Synod.     We  quote  it  as  follows: 

"The  truth  for  which  the  Covenanter  Church  has  long  been  con- 
tending, and  the  truth  for  which  she  now  stands  alone  among  all  the 
churches,  is  just  as  important  as  ever.  And  the  question  now  is  : 
Shall  we,  as  a  cliurch,  whether  few  or  inany,  continue  to  maitttain 
the  truth  as  to  the  claims  of  the  Mediator  as  Lord  of  nations  ?  And 
shall  ive  continue  to  refuse  to  incorporate  with  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment so  long  as  it  is  disloyal  to  Him  atid  to  His  law?  We  are  sorry 
that  at  last  Synod  this  question  was  so  mixed  up  with  other  and  far 
less  important  issues  that  it  was  almost  lost  sight  of;  and  we  are 
pained  to  have  to  confess  that  while  both  Pittsburg  Presbytery  and 
the  Synod  endeavored  to  stand  for  the  truth  and  the  right,  for  the  law 
and  order  of  the  church,  there  was  so  much  that  was  wrong  as  well 
as  indiscreet  on  the  part  of  both,  it  was  difficult  to  know  what  should 
be  done.     Nevertheless  we  repeat  what  we  said  in  our  last  issue,  viz.: 

"The  question  that  was  settled  by  the  Synod  is  this  :  That  office- 
holding  and  voting  in  the  United  States  Government  and  under  the 
United  States  Constitution  are  sinful — that  persons,  however  good 
otherwise,  who  do  not  so  believe  and  practise  can  not  be  received 
into  or  retained  in  the  fellowship  of  the  church — and  that  the  propa- 


554      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE;  SUNSET  LAND. 

gation  of  Sv^^ntinieiits  contrary  to  this  well-known  and  long-practised 
position  of  the  church  is  so  hostile  to  her  best  interests  that  it  can  not 
be  tolerated.  That  in  the  settlement  of  this  question  too  much  has 
been  said  and  done  that  was  both  painful  and  shameful  must  be  con- 
fessed in  sorrow  and  humiliation  ;  but  the  fact  remains  ;  and  however 
men  may  continue  to  agitate  it,  the  qticsiiou  is  settled.'' 

In  reviewing  the  manner  in  which  the  Banner  was  edited 
during  the  years  it  was  under  my  control  I  may  say  that  I 
endeavored  to  make  a  free  journal.  No  contributor,  what- 
ever were  his  sentiments,  was  shut  out  from  its  columns 
unless  by  his  mode  of  writing  he  violated  the  rules  of  Chris- 
tian courtesy  or  when  the  article  as  to  its  literary  character 
was  unfit  to  appear  in  type.  Of  either  kind  there  were  only 
a  few  instances. 

The  editor  was  adjtidged  by  some,  perhaps  many,  as  being 
too  radical  on  some  questions,  or  too  severe  in  his  testimony 
against  error  or  wrong.  If  he  had  not  been  outspoken 
against  evils  existing  in  the  church,  or  perhaps  if  he  had 
been  more  "suaviter  in  modo"  he  would  have  won  more 
favor.  Moreover,  among  all  the  church  papers  the  Banner 
stood  alone  in  its  advocacy  of  some  truths  or  reforms  or 
measures  believed  to  be  important  to  the  interests  of  the 
church;  and  in  its  judgment  the  other  journals  were  either 
silent  or  opposed  the  right. 

The  magazine  always  invited  contributions  but  received 
little  help  from  able  writers  in  the  church.  And  yet  nearly 
all  its  pages  were  filled  with  original  matter  and  most  of  it 
written  by  the  editor.  I  am  sure  that  he  was  so  anxious 
to  furnish  the  reader  with  first-class  religious  matter  that  its 
pages  always  seemed  too  few.  I  cotild  have  filled  double  as 
many  every  month,  and  often  I  added  more  pages  than  I 
was  under  promise  to  print.  Except  the  very  liberal  assist- 
ance given  by  my  wife  in  the  publishing  department,  I  had 
no  help.  I  could  not  afford  to  hire  it.  And  many  a  time  I 
w^as  weary;  but  God  was  kind.  "Balmy  sleep"  was  his 
gift. 


IN    PHILADEI.PHIA    AS    A   JOURNALIST.  555 

After  it  came  into  my  hands  I  think  I  made  some  improve- 
ments in  the  magazine;  most  notably  in  keeping  out  of  its 
pages  matter  not  suitable  for  Sabbath  reading.  Fewer  long 
obituaries  appeared  and  fewer  common-place  ones.  And 
then  I  gradually  got  rid  of  all  advertisements  and  instead 
filled  the  pages  of  the  cover  wdth  readable  matter. 

There  were  two  things  w^hich  I  tried  hard  to  effect,  but  as 
to  both  I  utterly  failed.  I  made  several  efforts  by  corre- 
spondence with  the  proprietors  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
and  Covenanter  to  combine  the  two  magazines.  If  properly 
edited  one  was  all  the  church  needed;  one  was  all  the  church 
could  afford  to  support.  And  in  this  belief  I  wrote  at  several 
different  times  asking  correspondence  in  reference  to  the 
com]:)ination  of  the  two.  At  first  I  offered  to  buy  the  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  and  Covenanter.  Then  I  offered  to 
unite  the  two  under  the  same  editor,  and  later  I  offered  to 
sell.  But  they  were  unwilling  to  make  any  change  what- 
ever, and  even  declined  correspondence  on  the  subject. 
And  so  we  both  plodded  on  as  before.  The  other  failure 
was  in  the  effort  to  induce  Synod  to  publish  their  own  min- 
utes or  to  give  us  material  aid  in  publishing  them.  And 
two  or  three  times  I  begged  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  and 
Covenanter  to  join  with  the  Banner  in  an  effort  to  persuade 
Synod  to  either  print  their  own  minutes,  as  most  of  the 
churches  do,  or  to  help  us  to  bear  the  expenses.  As  to  this 
also,  correspondence  was  declined.  And  I  had  cause  to  com- 
plain; for  soon  after  the  Banner  was  suspended  and  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  and  Covenanter  had  to  print  the  min- 
utes without  help,  the  editor  complained  of  the  burden. 
Not  long  afterwards  even  the  old  familiar  yellow-covered 
monthly  had  to  suspend,  I  suppose  for  w'ant  of  pabulum. 
The  inference  is  that  if  the  two  had  been  married  legally  and 
honorably  (they  twain  one)  the  church  might  have  had  a 
good  and  much-needed  magazine  to  this  day.  Now  the 
church  is  suffering  for  want  of  it. 


556  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

Not  wishing  to  spend  the  heated  season  in  Philadelphia, 
as  soon  as  the  Daiiner  with  Synod's  minntes  was  mailed,  we 
went  to  Vermont  to  spend  onr  vacation  among  the  old  famil- 
iar hills  and  brooks  of  Topsham.  Since  my  last  visit  there 
my  dear  old  friend,  Elder  Josiah  Divoll,  had  been  removed 
to  the  circle  of  elders  about  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
His  daughter,  Mrs.  Taggart,  and  her  son  Charlie  were  3^et 
residing  in  the  old  mansion  near  the  church.  Here  we 
engaged  boarding  during  the  hot  months;  and  here  was  my 
temporary  sanctum  or  editorial  "den." 

We  had  not  been  there  long  until  we  were  joined  by  our 
daughter  Rosamond.  She  had  remained  in  California  with 
her  married  sister,  Mrs.  Kirkpatrick,  until  the  close  of  the 
seminary  year  when  she  resigned  her  position,  bade  farewell 
to  Oakland,  and  came  on  directly  to  Topsham  to  spend  the 
vacation  with  us.  On  the  way  she  was  met  by  the  young 
minister  in  charge  of  the  Boulevard  Mission,  New  York, 
who  came  on  with  her  to  Topsham.  Thus  for  a  while  Mrs. 
Taggart  had  five  boarders,  and  we  all  had  many  a  joyous 
ramble  in  the  forests  and  among  the  trout  brooks,  or  rides 
over  the  hills.  During  this  vacation  w^e  had  the  comfort  of 
another  communion  season  during  which  I  again  assisted 
Pastor  Faris. 

The  hot  season  being  over  we  returned  to  Philadelphia  in 
time  to  get  out  the  September  number  of  the  Banner.  On 
the  evening  of  the  20th  of  October,  in  our  parlor  and  in 
the  presence  of  a  select  number  of  friends,  occurred  the 
marriage  of  our  daughter  to  Rev.  T.  Holmes  Walker,  of 
New  York.  In  the  marriage  ceremonies  I  was  assisted  by 
her  cousin,  Rev.  A.  W.  Johnston,  M.  D.,  and  Rev.  Dr.  D.  W. 
Collins,  Rev.  J.  C.  McFeeters  also  was  present.  After  a 
protracted  social  and  festive  hour  or  two  with  the  friends, 
the  young  married  folks  took  the  night  train  for  New  Y'ork, 
thus  lea^^ng  a  vacant  chair  in  our  family  room.     Those 


IN   PHir^ADELPHTA    AS   A   JOURNALIST.  557 

parents  who  have  had  to  see  their  last  child  depart  from 
home  to  constitute  a  new  family  ma}"  imagine  how  we  felt 
that  night  when  we  worshiped  at  our  family  altar,  the  last 
loved  one  gone. 

The  year  1S92  was  one  of  hard  work  and  of  some  incidents 
worthy  of  record.  I  could  have  carried  the  burden  of  Our 
Banner  more  joyously  if  to  buoy  it  and  to  keep  it  afloat  I 
had  not  been  compelled  to  incur  debt.  I  had  paid  one 
thousand  dollars  as  purchase  money  and  had  been  led  to 
expect  that  from  the  old  dues  of  the  magazine  I  would  be 
able  to  collect  sufficient  to  pay  back  the  purchase  money. 
So  little  was  collected  that  I  was  not  onl^^  disappointed  but 
saw  little  probability  of  getting  out  of  debt.  This  troubled 
me,  and  all  the  more  because  the  magazine  scarcely  paid  the 
printer's  bills  while  we  had  nothing  wherewith  to  pay  our 
house  rents  and  other  family  expenses.  From  a  financial 
standpoint  it  was  not  easy  to  be  optimistic.  But  the  work 
had  to  be  done  and  the  monthly  bills  paid  whatever  might 
be  or  not  be. 

The  death  of  my  beloved  and  only  sister,  Mrs.  Jameson,  ot 
Belle-Centre,  O.,  occurred  in  the  winter  of  1891  and  '92  at 
Mansfield,  O.,  whither  she  had  removed  to  be  with  her  son, 
then  residing  in  that  city.  Her  last  sickness  was  short  and 
4ier  death  sooner  than  expected.  That  I  was  not  able  to 
visit  her  on  her  death-bed  or  attend  the  burial  was  a  source 
of  deep  sorrow.  She  had  been  to  me  a  most  affectionate  and 
faithful  sister.  The  latter  5-ears  of  her  life  had  been  full  ot 
sorrow.  As  a  devout  child  of  God  she  had  been  sanctified 
thereby  and  at  last  was  lovinglj-  carried  in  the  arms  of  the 
Angel  of  the  covenant  into  the  presence  of  His  Father  and 
her  Father  in  the  New  Jerusalem  in  which  there  is  no 
sorrow.  The  departure  of  that  sweet  sister,  Mary  Jane, 
sundered  another  tie  that  bound  me  to  earth.  I  did  not 
doubt   that  she  had   been  taken  by  the  Bridegroom  to  be 


558  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

clothed  with  the  white  robe  she  had  longed  to  wear,  but  I 
was  sorely  grieved  that  I  could  not  be  with  her  to  receive  her 
dying  benediction.  Our  brother  Samuel  was  with  her  in 
her  last  hours  and  closed  the  eyes  of  our  sister  in  death.  He 
and  her  son  carried  the  body  to  Northwood  Cemetery  and 
laid  it  beside  the  dust  of  our  mother  to  rest  until  the  resur- 
rection of  the  just. 

A  while  after  our  daughter's  marriage  and  their  keeping 
house  in  New  York,  the}-  persuaded  us  to  join  them  and 
make  our  home  there  for  a  time,  but  we  did  not  remove  the 
publication  of  Our  Banner  ixoxa.  Philadelphia  thinking  that  I 
could  do  the  editorial  work  in  New  York  without  an}-  other 
change.  We  had  not  been  in  Gotham  long  until  it  was 
time  to  go  to  Synod.  It  met  that  year,  1S92,  at  Mansfield, 
O.  I  spent  as  much  of  my  time  as  I  could  with  the  family 
of  my  nephew,  Arthur  Johnston  Carter,  where  sister  had 
died.  The}^  had  an  adopted  daughter  who  was  very  ill  and 
it  was  her  last  sickness.  She  was  then  being  prepared  for 
the  fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  She  had  been  a  pupil  of  her 
grandmother  and  so  must  always  have  been  a  child  of  many 
pra^^ers. 

This  meeting  of  Synod  when  placed  in  contrast  with  that 
of  the  preceding  year  was  exceedingly  pleasant.  What  the 
editor  of  Our  Banner  thought  of  it  appears  from  what  he 
said  in  the  first  issue  after  Synod.  Only  a  condensed  state- 
ment is  admissible  here. 

"The  late  meeting  was  characterized  by  at  least  six  things: 

"i.  Its  penitential  and  prayerful  spirit. 

"2.  Its  freedom  from  the  disturbing  element  commonly  called  Lib- 
eralism. 

'3.  Its  freedom  from  acrimonious  debate  and  personal  animosities. 

"Still  more  remarkable,  probably,  was  the  vote  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  foreign  mission  in  China.  Look  at  the  facts.  Except  Our 
Banner,  not  a  paper  or  magazine  in  the  church  had  ever  favored  the 
new  mission.     The    Christian   Nation   had   even  opposed  it.     Two 


IN   PHILADELPHIA   AS   A   JOURNALIST.  559 

years  ago,  when  our  beloved  missionary,  Dr.  Metheny,  of  Tarsus, 
and  others,  plead  so  earnestly  for  the  new  mission,  several  of  the 
leading  member  of  Synod— members  of  whom  we  had  a  right  to 
expect  better  things— strongly  opposed  it.  And  again  at  this  meeting 
the  same  and  some  other  members,  and  even  some  members  of  jMis- 
sion  Boards,  decidedly  opposed  the  new  mission.  And  yet,  when 
the  vote  was  finally  taken,  so  full  and  large  was  the  majority  in  favor 
of  it  that  not  one  opposing  vote  was  given.  E.xcept  in  the  minds  of 
some  who  did  not  vote,  it  was  unanimous.  The  right  finally  pre- 
vailed without  opposition.  Such  unanimity  in  the  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian Church  is  almost  without  a  parallel.  What  hath  God 
wrought  !  " 

In  this  connection  and  in  illustration  of  the  g^rowing  inter- 
est in  the  proposed  mission  to  China  I  give  here  a  little 
editorial  that  appeared  in  Our  Baiiiicr  in  the  same  number. 
It  reads  thus: 

"Enthusiasm.  No  subject  discussed  in  Synod  awakened  such 
intense  interest  as  that  of  the  establishment  of  a  foreign  mission  in 
China.  Some  of  the  speeches  in  its  favor  carried  conviction.  That, 
especially,  of  the  .secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was  one 
of  great  power.  It  awakened  enthusiasm  in  the  hearts  of  not  a  few. 
It  must  have  caused  conviction  in  every  soul  alive  to  the  needs  of  the 
heathen  world  and  to  the  duty  of  the  church  to  give  the  Gospel  to  the 
nations  noiv.  Such  enthusiasm  had  been  awakened  that  when  the 
final  vote  was  taken  not  one  of  the  opposers  of  the  new  mission  had 
the  courage,  even  if  they  had  the  desire,  to  vote  no. 

"At  a  subsequent  session  some  of  these  non-voters  spoke  disparag- 
ingly of  this  'enthusiasm,'  as  they  called  it.  As  though  enthusiasm 
were  not  laudable.  Alas!  for  those  who  have  none  of  it.  Entiuisi- 
asm!  Enthusiasm  in  a  good  cause!  The  more  the  better.  Why,  it  is 
a  divine  gift.  It  is  the  glory  of  the  Great  Redeemer  who  'was  clad 
with  zeal  as  a  cloak,'  and  who,  as  his  disciples  remembered,  had 
said:  'The  ze^l  of  thy  house  hath  eaten  Me  up.'  Would  God  that 
all  the  Lord's  people,  especially  ministers,  and  more  especially  pro- 
fessors of  theology,  had  enthusiasm  in  every  good  cause— Christlike 
enthusiasm  in  the  cause  of  missions.  Then  God,  even  our  own  God, 
would  bless  us;  and  then  would  the  nations  be  glad  and  sing  for 
joy." 


560  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND. 

The  final  action  of  Synod  on  this  subject  was  the  author- 
izing of  the  Foreign  Board  "to  appoint  two  missionaries,  one 
of  whom  shall  be  an  ordained  minister,  and  the  other  a  phy- 
sician, to  establish  a  mission  in  China  as  soon  as  practicable." 
But  progress  does  not  always  mark  the  action  of  Synod. 
.  The  Banner  always  urged  that  the  church's  position  in 
reference  to  the  use  and  sale  of  tobacco  should  be  more  pro- 
hibitory— that  no  toleration  should  be  given  to  either  the  use 
or  the  traffic.  But  this  Mandfield  Synod  fell  below  its  former 
testimony  and  action,  as  all  it  could  say  was  in  these  feeble 
words  that  would  not  greatly  disturb  the  feelings  of  any 
sinner,  viz.,  "That  we  condemn  as  earnestly  as  heretofore  the 
use  of  tobacco  in  any  of  its  forms;  that  the  tobacco  habit  is  a 
preparation  for  the  more  dangerous  one  of  intemperance." 
Here  is  not  a  word  against  the  sale  of  tobacco  and  no  prohi- 
bition of  its  use,  when  the  committee  that  prepared  that 
report  knew  that  even  some  ministers  as  well  as  elders  use  it 
habitually.  Suppose  that  Synod  a  while  ago  had  said:  "We 
condemn  the  use  of  whisky,"  but  had  done  nothing  io pre- 
ve?it  its  use  by  members  nor  pass  any  law  against  its  sale. 
Covenanters  would  be  drinking  and  selling  whisky  to  this 
day.  No  !  The  church  will  not  get  rid  of  the  tobacco  curse 
and  filth  until  her  legislation  is  absolute  prohibition  of  both 
the  use  and  the  sale. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

A  Family  Reunion. 

It  had  been  planned  that  as  soon  as  the  number  of  the 
Banner  with  Synod's  minutes  would  be  out  and  mailed  we 
would  again  spend  our  vacation  in  Vermont.  As  Rev.  Mr. 
Paris  had  resigned  his  pastoral  charge,  the  parsonage  as 
well  as  the  pulpit  was  now  vacant.  The  elders  had  offered 
us  the  use  of  it  free  during  our  vacation  and  had  made 
arrangements  for  a  summer  communion  while  I  would  be 
there.  Mrs.  Johnston  had  gone  on  in  advance  and  had 
arranged  affairs  so  that  we  could  keep  house  during  the  hot 
season  and  have  a  family  reunion  in  the  birthplace  of  our 
children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkpatrick  (Mary)  of  Oakland, 
Cal.,  were  about  to  remove  thence  and  come  to  Utica,  O.,  to 
make  the  old  homestead  their  future  home  as  both  his  parents 
had  gone  to  their  rest.  To  carry  out  her  mother's  plan  for 
the  family  reunion  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  sent  forward  Mary  and 
the  children,  five  boys,  while  he  remained  to  arrange  busi- 
ness matters.  She  came  by  the  northern  route  through 
Detroit  and  Canada  to  Montpelier  and  thence  to  Topsham. 
This  was  her  birthplace,  but  she  had  never  been  there  since 
she  was  a  little  girl.  And  now  all  our  family^grandpar- 
ents,  children,  and  grandchildren — three  generations,  were 
together  in  the  old  parsonage,  an  unbroken  band  save  one 

"  There  is  no  flock,  however  watched  and  tended, 
But  one  dead  lamb  is  there ; 
There  is  no  fireside,  howsoe'er  defended, 
But  has  one  vacant  chair." 

36  (561) 


562  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

Waldo  Johnston  was  Mary's  second  son,  a  beautiful  boy  of 
about  eight  years.  Sometime  during  the  previous  summer 
he  sickened  and  died.  They  laid  his  body  in  Mountain 
View  Cemetery  beside  the  grave  of  his  great-grandmother. 
As  he  was  my  namesake,  as  his  death  was  the  first  that  had 
occurred  in  our  family,  and  as  he  was  a  favorite  among  us 
all,  I  give  place  here  to  a  letter  written  by  his  father  and 
that  appeared  in  Our  Banner  sXioxWy  after  the  loss  of  his  son; 
and  I  pray  that  by  the  reading  of  it  here  not  a  few  may 
be  profited  and  perhaps  some  heart  comforted. 

THE    LETTER. 

"We  have  received  a  number  of  letters  of  condolence  from  our 
friends  but  none  that  toucli  the  heart  Uke  those  who  suffer  with  us. 

"  Your  letter  written  to  Mary  before  Waldo's  death  seemed  to 
express  a  doubt  of  his  having  fu'l  knowledge  of  the  way  of  salvation  or  of 
his  having  accepted  the  Lord  Jesus  as  his  Saviour.  But  in  that  I  think 
your  fears  were  unfounded.  We  are  wont  to  speak  of  'childlike 
faith.'  During  his  life  I  have  often  thought  what  an  example  he  was 
of  that  unquestioning  kind  of  faith.  No  doubt  ever  seemed  to  come 
across  his  mind  that  the  Saviour  had  died  for  /liui  and  his  eager 
acceptance  of  every  truth  contained  in  the  Divine  Word  was  often  a 
rebuke  to  me  as  well  as  an  inspiration.  His  vivid  imagination  and 
spirituality  enabled  him  to  comprehend  matters  that  the  other  chil- 
dren do  not  seem  to  take  hold  of  at  all.  From  the  time  I  saw  him 
after  his  fatal  illness  began  I  feared  the  worst  and  often  wondered 
what  could  be  said  to  him  that  might  bring  him  nearer  to  his  .Saviour. 
I  could  think  of  nothing  that  he  did  not  already  know  and  believe, 
and  his  sufferings  were  so  incessant  and  severe  he  could  not  at  any 
time  carry  on  a  conversation  for  any  length  of  time.  So  nothing  was 
said  beyond  the  often  expressed  wish  to  him  that  Jesus  would  heal 
him  but  if  not  to  make  him  ready  for  heaven. 

"On  the  Wednesday  night  before  he  died — the  last  night  he  was 
wholly  conscious — I  was  undressing  the  little  children  at  his  bedside 
and  they  were  saying  their  prayers  in  my  hearing.  Waldo  wanted 
me  to  say  his  prayer  for  him  and  later  he  asked  me  again.  Each  time 
I  complied  with  a  feeling  diat  I  was  as  near  my  Father  God  as  I  ever 
had  been.  I  had  omitted  the  second  time  to  say — as  his  custom  was — 
'to  give  Waldie  a  new  heart.'     He  reminded  me  of  the  omission, 


A    FAMILY    REUNION.  563 

showing  he  was  following  me  closely.  He  would  improvise  a  prayer 
for  his  'grandma  back  home' 'that  came  from  the  heart  so  fervently 
that  it  was  plain  that  he  felt  that  he  was  talking  to  a  Hearer  of  prayer 
that  was  a  personality  to  him. 

"  Surely  some'children  are  saved,  for  Jesus  said  so,  and  I  am  just  as 
confident  that  Waldo  is  one  of  them.  I  do  not  think  much  of  con- 
fessions made  on  the  death-bed — nor  do  I  value  the  '  last  words '  as 
some  seem  to.  Waldo's  life  for  years  was  what  gave  me  the 
confidence  I  have  in  his  being  numbered  among  the  redeemed.  Of 
highly  nervous  temperament,  easily  irritated  because  of  the  sensitive 
condition  of  his  brain  which  was  predisposed  to  ths  disease  that 
terminated  his  short  life— he  was  ever  ready  to  ask  forgiveness  for 
wrongdoing,  and  grant  a  pardon  which  seemed  to  carry  with  it  a 
forgetfulness  of  a  wrong  done  him. 

' '  My  fondness  for  him  is  a  secret  to  nobody.  He  was  my  one  com- 
panion and  his  loss  is  to  me  beyond  anything  that  language  can 
e.xpress.  1  can  not  see  in  any  of  the  other  children  the  traits  of 
character  that  made  him  so  precious  to  me — though  I  love  them  all 
very  dearly.  '  /  am  the  man  that  hath  seen  affliction  by  the  rod  of 
His  wrath.'  Another  grief  that  heavily  bows  down  the  strong  man 
I  am  doubtless  soon  to  suffer,  but  His  grace  shall  be  sufficient,  and 
my  sorrow  is  tempered  with  the  blessed  hope  that  I  shall  one  day  go 
to  the  loved  ones  who  precede  me.  God  grant  that  we  may  meet  all 
our  loved  ones  before  His  throne !  He  gave  and  He  hath  taken 
away:  Blessed  be  His  name." 

Shortly  after  Mary  and  the  boys  came  to  Topsham  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Walker  went  from  New  York,  and  I  followed  soon. 
Then  came  the  communion  season.  It  was  largely  attended 
by  the  people  and  greatly  enjoyed  by  our  family,  none 
absent  save  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  away  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Some  weeks  after  the  communion  Mrs.  Walker  gav^e  birth 
to  a  beautiful  little  babe  that  the  happy  father  named  Rosa- 
mond Johnston.  Thus  another  was  added  to  our  family 
reunion  circle,  and  this  in  the  old  parsonage  where  the  babe's 
mother  first  saw  the  light. 

When  Mary's  allotted  time  had  expired  and  Banner  diUXxt's, 
called  me  back  to  Philadelphia,  she  and  the  boys  and  their 
grandfather  bade  good-b}'  to  the  others  who  could  linger 


564  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THK    SUNSET    LAND. 

behind.  We  traveled  together  as  far  as  Greenfield,  Mass., 
where  we  parted,  she  and  the  children  going  to  Utica,  O.,  and 
I  to  Philadelphia.  When  their  long  vacation  was  over  those 
who  had  lingered  behind  for  the  time  joined  me  in  Phila- 
delphia. Prior  to  this  Rev.  Mr.  W^alker  had  resigned  the 
charge  of  the  mission  church  in  New  York.  As  he  expected 
to  be  awa}'  from  home  preaching  in  fulfilment  of  appoint- 
ments, he  removed  to  Philadelphia  where  he  left  his  little 
famil}'  in  our  charge. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1893  I  was  closely  con- 
fined to  my  post  except  when  after  the  death  of  Rev.  William 
Graham  I  went  to  Boston  to  preach  two  Sabbaths  in  the 
vacant  pulpit.  During  m}^  stay  I  was  most  pleasantly 
entertained  in  the  family  of  Mrs.  Graham,  the  bereaved 
widow. 

The  S^-nod  of  1893  met  at  New  Castle,  Pa.  Two  memo- 
rials were  before  Sjniod,  one  asking  that  advanced  action  be 
taken  against  the  use  and  sale  of  tobacco,  and  another  peti- 
tioning that  Synod  would  rescind  its  resolution  of  1889  in 
reference  to  voting  on  constitutional  amendments.  Sj-nod 
granted  the  request  of  neither,  though  on  the  tobacco  ques- 
tion the  deliverance  was  in  advance  of  that  of  the  previous 
year.     The  action  of  this  year  reads  thus  : 

'^Resolved,  i.  That  we  reiterate  our  condemnation  of  the  filthy, 
expensive,  and  sinful  habit  of  using  tobacco  as  demoralizing  the 
character,  ruining  the  health,  and  draining  the  income,  as  well  as 
entailing  disease  and  an  enfeebled  constitution  upon  posterity. 

"2.  That  we  urge  once  more  that  a  practical  testimony  be  borne 
against  this  vice,  by  refusing  financial  aid  to  students,  licensing 
theological  students,  giving  appointments  to  supplies,  or  ordaining 
to  any  office  in  the  church  those  who  persist  in  its  use." 

As  to  the  foreign  mission  in  China  no  progress  had  been 
made.  No  action  was  taken  except  to  vote  that  "Synod  is 
still  ready  to  go  forward  in  establishing  a  mission  in  China 


A    I^AMILY    REUNION.  565 

SO  soon  as  the  leadings  of  God's  providence  shall  indicate 
his  willingness  to  grant  us  the  privilege.  No  one  has 
responded  to  the  call  for  a  missionary,  and  the  Geary 
exclusion  law  may  close  the  door  temporarily." 

As  Rev.  James  Patton  had  resigned  the  superintendence 
of  the  Oakland  Chinese  mission,  the  Central  Board  reported 
that  they  had  appointed  Rev.  D.  McAllister,  Jr.,  to  its  super- 
intendency  at  a  salary  of  $1,000,  and  that  the  mission  was 
"  in  a  very  satisfactory  condition  "! 

During  that  meeting  of  Synod  and  by  special  invitation 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  having  a  good  visit  with  my  dear 
friend,  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Audley  Browne,  and  family.  Most 
probably  that  was  our  last  meeting  on  this  side  of  the  river, 
but,  my  beloved  United  Presbyterian  brother,  may  we  not 
hope  to  eat  bread  together  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ? 

Soon  after  Synod  I  heard  of  the  death  of  my  brother 
Samuel.  It  occurred  on  the  i4tli  of  May.  His  wife  had 
died  only  a  few  weeks  before.  As  he  was  several  years 
older,  he  had  expected  her  to  survive  him.  After  her  death 
he  was  cast  down  in  sorrow  and  seemed  to  pine  away  at  his 
great  loss.  Samuel  P.  was  the  last  of  our  family  whose 
death  I  was  called  to  mourn.  Brother  James  was  younger 
than  he,  but  the  older  survived  the  younger  by  quite  a  num- 
ber of  years;  and  he  outlived  my  sister  who  was  many  years 
younger.  As  he  was  the  only  farmer  in  the  family  he  was 
blessed  with  health  and  long  life.  His  age  was  nearly  ninety. 
He  was  the  father  of  thirteen  children.  They  all  loved  him 
as  few  fathers  are  loved.  And  well  they  might.  Never  was 
a  father  more  faithful  to  his  children.  And  among  Cov- 
enanters none  were  more  loyal  to  the  old  blue  banner  of 
Scotland  and  her  covenants.  Five  of  his  sons  were  named 
for  her  reformers  "of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy." 
Yet  he  lived  to  see  some  of  them  turn  aside  to  the  flocks  of 
the   companions,   and  it  gave   him  grief.     Since  this  dear 


5^6  LOOKING   BACK   I^ROM    THE   SUNSKT   LANt). 

brother's  death,  by  which  I  was  left  alone,  the  last  of  our 
mother's  children,  I  have  been  sad  in  my  loneliness.  But 
the  time  will  not  be  long. 

While  we  resided  in  Philadelphia  I  had  frequent  inter- 
views with  my  dear  friend  of  early  years,  William  Still, 
author  of  that  wonderful  book,  "The  Underground  Rail- 
road." He  was  president  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  the 
Home  for  Aged  People  of  Color.  He  generally  arranged 
for  religious  services  on  Sabbath  da3^s.  Several  times  at  his 
invitation  I  preached  in  the  Home.  The  services  were  in 
the  chapel  into  which  probably  about  one  hundred  old  peo- 
ple, some  very  old,  gathered  to  worship.  Many  of  them  had 
been  slaves.  Most  of  them  were  very  attentive  hearers. 
Sometimes  after  the  services  were  over  many  would  come  to 
me  to  talk  over  the  dark  and  painful  scenes  through  which 
they  had  passed  when  under  the  yoke.  Would  it  not  be  easy 
to  preach  to  such  people  ? 

In  the  city  of  Philadelphia  yet  continues  to  exist  the  oldest 
and  only  anti-slavery  society  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Still 
is  the  president.  Under  his  leading  influence  it  was  agreed 
to  hold  a  public  meeting  on  the  anniversary  of  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  slaves.  The  meetings  continued  through  the 
afternoon  and  evening  and  were  very  large.  Mr.  Still  was 
the  chairman.  They  were  held  in  the  great  auditorium  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  consisted  largely  of  negroes.  Friends 
(Quakers),  and  old  people.  Among  the  speakers  on  the 
program  were  several  of  the  old  Abolitionists  who  had  plead 
the  cause  of  the  oppressed,  such  as  Robert  Purvis,  Mary 
Grew,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Furness.  Mr.  Still  had  pressed  me  into 
the  service  and  I  ventured  to  prepare  and  give  an  address  on 
"  What  Hath  God  Wrong  hf  f  On  the  preparation  of  that 
address  I  bestowed  much  labor,  and  its  sentiments  seemed 
to  meet  the  warm  approbation  of  the  audience.  It  was  my 
last  public  testimony  in  behalf  of  the  old  Abolitionists  of 


A    FAMILY    REUNION.  567 

whom  their  generation  was  not  worth5^  I  can  not  give  it 
here;  it  is  too  lengthy;  but  the  writer  may  be  pardoned  for 
giving  at  least  the  two  paragraphs  with  which  the  address 
closed . 

"The  philosoph}^  of  the  old  Abolition  movement  has  not 
been  understood  except  by  a  few.  It  was  too  high  for  the 
politician;  too  deep  for  the  mere  churchman.  The  honor  of 
the  final  result  is  too  often  ascribed  to  party  or  to  the  martyr 
President.  The  thought  in  the  mind  of  the  old  Abolitionist 
— 'What  hath  God  wrought!' — is  as  true  as  it  was  sub- 
lime. To  the  enthroned  Mediator,  the  God  of  armies,  let  all 
the  glory  be  ascribed.  For  generations  he  had  been  bottfing 
up  the  tears  of  the  oppressed.  No  prayer  of  the  millions  of 
his  own  enslaved  children  begging  for  deliverance  was  for- 
gotten. And  now  when  the  cup  of  his  indignation  was  full 
and  the  hour  of  their  deliverance  had  come,  the  torch  of  Johu 
Brown's  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry  was  thrown  into  slavery's 
magazine,  and  the  old  warrior  and  hero  became  a  sacrifice 
to  appease  the  rage  and  allay  the  fears  of  the  south.  But 
God  had  determined  the  destruction  ot  the  slave  power  and 
of  the  auction-block;  and  so  the  maddened  south  fired  upon 
Fort  Sumter.  Then  followed  the  rush  to  arms  to  resent  the 
insult  done  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  Then  followed  the 
nation's  baptism  of  blood  to  save  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union,  not  to  deliver  the  oppressed.  But  God  meant  it 
otherwise.  Emancipation  as  a  war  measure  resulted,  and 
in  God's  own   time   the  chains   were  broken.      Lans  Deo! 

"Who  should  be  here  to-da^-  to  commemorate  emancipa- 
tion? If  I  could  I  would  summon  from  the  north,  from  the 
south,  from  the  east,  and  from  the  west  and  gather  into 
one  vast  assembly  the  old  slave  mothers  who  were  bereft 
of  their  children,  the  surviving  husbands  and  fathers  whom 
the  cruel  slave-dealer  sold  to  the  dreaded  cotton  and  sugar 
plantations,  and  the  old  fugitives  who  fresh  from  the  bloody 


568  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

lash  ot"  the  overseer  l)ecame  the  prey  of  the  bloodhound;  and 
then  with  these  emancipated  ones  as  our  leaders  we  would 
join  in  the  glad  shout  of  '  Halleluiah,  for  the  Lord  God 
Omnipotent  reigneth.'  " 

A  few  weeks  after  that  anniversary  meeting  Mrs.  Johnston 
and  I  were  invited  to  an  evening  dinner  with  Mr.  Still's 
family.  All  the  other  guests  were  colored  men  and  their 
wives.  The  men  were  an  Ivpiscopal  bishop,  a  Methodist 
D.  D.,  Rev.  Dr.  Reeves,  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  Church 
of  which  Mr.  Still  is  a  member.  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson,  Pres- 
byterian minister  and  Mr.  Still's  son-in-law,  and  another 
minister  who  was  editor  of  a  religious  magazine  in  the 
interests  of  the  colored  people.  In  that  little  company  of 
friends  were  men  and  women  of  brains  and  culture  such  as 
are  rarely  found  at  any  festive  board.  We  found  ourselves 
in  the  presence  of  men  of  such  high  attainments  and  relig- 
ious worth  that  if  we  had  had  any  pride  of  caste  or  color 
there  was  now  no  room  left  for  it.  And  the  dinner  was 
like  a  royal  feast.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Still  pre.sided  as  if  they 
were  king  and  queen.  Rarely  if  ever  in  life  was  it  our 
honor  to  be  guests  on  such  a  festive  occasion. 

The  Banners  containing  the  minutes  of  the  Sjniod  of  1893 
all  being  in  the  Philadelphia  post-office,  w-ife  and  I  once 
more  hurried  off  to  Vermont  to  spend  our  summer  vacation 
in  the  old  parsonage  among  the  hills  and  the  people  we 
loved  so  well.  This  time  we  had  to  go  alone  except  that 
we  took  our  "little  Gracie"  with  us.  Our  children  were 
away  west  at  their  own  homes.  Sometime  during  the 
past  year  Rev.  Mr.  Walker  had  been  called  to  the  pastorate 
of  Cedar  L,ake  Congregation  at  Ra}-,  Indiana,  and  had 
removed  thither.  The  Top.sham  parsonage  was  now  occu- 
pied by  Mrs.  Emily  Divoll  Taggart  and  her  son.  We  were 
all  happy  together.  Charlie  had  been  a  student  at  Mt. 
Hermon,  Mr.  Mood^-'s  school  for  boys;  and  he  was  such  a 


William  Still 


A    FAMILY    RKUNION.  569 

lover  of  music  and  such  a  master  of  so  many  musical  instru- 
ments, we  never  were  allowed  to  grow  sad  or  morose;  and 
our  daily  concert  tickets  were  always  free. 

As  the  summer  before,  the  church  session  requested  me  to 
conduct  the  religious  services  of  another  communion  season, 
and  I  was  authorized  to  invite  Rev.  J.  C.  McFeeters  to  assist. 
By  correspondence  we  arranged  to  meet  at  Northfield,  Mass., 
to  remain  as  long  as  we  could  at  the  missionaries'  conven- 
tion in  session  at  that  time.  We  lodged  in  one  of  the  build- 
ings on  the  extensive  and  beautiful  grounds  consecrated  to 
religion  and  Christian  education.  Brother  J.  R.  Thompson, 
pastor  of  the  Second  Church  of  Newburgh,  N.  Y.,  was  there 
before  us,  and  we  had  a  good  time.  He  was  spending  a  short 
vacation  there.  Where  could  he  or  any  hard-working  pastor 
find  a  better  summer  resting-place  ?  Brother  McFeeters  and 
I  lodged  in  a  large  room  supplied  with  two  beds.  As  he  was 
born  on  the  Green  Isle  and  I  in  the  United  States  twenty- 
eight  years  earlier,  and  a  lineal  descendant  of  Sir  Archibald 
Johnston,  or  Lord  Warriston  whom  the  Scotch  Covenant- 
breakers  hung  in  Edinburgh,  we  thought  it  prudent  to  occupy 
different  beds.  But  we  read  the  Bible  together  and  prayed 
together  morning  and  evening;  we  lay  together  on  the  lawn 
under  the  shadow  of  one  of  the  old  elms  while  he  read  to 
me  Professor  Drummond's  latest  book;  together  we  attended 
the  meetings  and  heard  great  lectures  from  great  men  and 
returned  missionaries  from  far-distant  lands;  together  we 
listened  with  joy  or  in  tears  to  the  great  evangelist,  always 
the  central  object  and  mainspring  of  all  the  wheels  ever  in 
motion  there;  and  together  we  listened  with  rapture  to  Mr. 
Moody's  song  companion,  Ira  D.  Sankey.  By  the  way,  if 
ever  an  "old  Psalm-singer"  is  tempted  to  become  a  hymn- 
singer  it  must  be  at  those  meetings  where  everybody  joins 
in  chorus  with  Mr.  Sankey  in  some  of  his  songs  as  no  other 
can  .sing  them.     By  the  way  again,  Ira  D.  Sankey' might  not 


570  1.00KING   BACK    FROM   THE  SUNSET   LAND. 

be  the  last  one  to  be  brought  to  our  beUef  in  the  exclusive 
use  of  the  inspired  songs  of  the  Bible.  He  has  a  great  admi- 
ration for  them,  and  he  once  said  to  me  that  he  would  like 
to  use  them  if  they  were  more  beautifully  versified.  His 
emphasized  statement  is  that  in  his  public  singing  he  is  only 
"singing  the  Gospel."  As  yet,  however,  he  is  far  from 
accurate  in  his  views.  Some  A^ears  ago,  in  pleasant  talk 
with  him  in  San  Francisco,  I  could  not  convince  him  that 
the  "psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs"  mentioned  by 
Paul  are  all  found  in  the  book  of  the  Bible  called  the  "  Book 
of  Psalms."  Nor  is  Mr.  Sankey  alone  in  his  opinion.  Some 
good  people  believe  that  the  "hymn"  which  Jesus  and  his 
disciples  sang  after  the  Passover  and  before  he  went  out  to 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  was  only  the  effusion  of  some  poetic 
genius  among  his  followers. 

During  our  communion  season  in  Topsham  Mr.  McFeeters 
gave  us  such  preaching  as  he  only  can  give.  The  little  rem- 
nant of  the  once  beautiful  flock  were  almost  all  out  to  be 
happy  during  the  da^'S  of  the  sweet  season  of  communion; 
and  many  others  heard  the  Word  preached.  As  the  duties 
of  a  pastor  devolved  upon  me,  I  tried  on  Monday  to  give  as 
kind  and  yet  faithful  exhortation  as  was  needed.  At  that 
time  I  supposed  but  did  not  know  that  that  would  be  my 
last  communion  with  those  dear  people.  "His  ways  are  past 
finding  out." 

While  Mr.  McFeeters  tarried  with  us  as  our  guest  we  had 
many  a  season  of  sweet  fellowship,  and  some  pleasant  ram- 
bles. In  one  we  obtained  some  relics  from  the  farm  home 
in  which  Rev.  William  Sloane,  the  old-time  pastor,  had 
lived.  That  house  was  the  birthplace  of  his  son,  James 
Renwick  Willson  Sloane,  and  to  it  others  would  yet  be  more 
likely  to  make  pilgrimages  if  the  Topsham  Covenanters  had 
continued  loyal  to  Christ. 

After  the  communion  we  lingered  some  weeks  and  tried 


A    FAMILY    REiUNION.  57 ^ 

to  do  what  we  could  for  the  Master's  cause.  I  contmued  to 
preach  on  Sabbaths.  Mrs.  Johnston  did  much  W.  C.  T.  U. 
work  and  continued  to  teach  the  Sabbath-school  Bible  class. 
I  prepared  the  matter  for  the  September  number  of  Our 
Banner,  rambled  often  among  the  forests  and  brooks  yet 
familiar,  made  my  last  visit  to  the  grave  where,  alone  and 
unseen  by  mortal  eye,  I  had  often  wept— wept  tears  but 
wiped  away  by  the  hand  of  one  who  loved  me  more  than  I 
deserved. 


CHAPTER   IvVIII. 

Nkw  Home  for  "Our  Banner." 

After  the  issue  of  the  September  number  of  Our  Banner 
we  changed  the  place  of  pubUcation  to  Pittsburg.  Our  resi- 
dence, however,  was  at  Beaver  Falls  an  hour  or  more  distant 
by  rail.  This  change  was  made  not  because  we  disliked  to 
live  in  the  city  of  brotherh'  love,  for  we  had  many  friends 
there,  and  for  many  reasons  it  was  a  most  desirable  home; 
but  the  expenses  of  living  were  heavy,  my  health  was  fail- 
ing for  want  of  what  it  was  almost  impossible  to  find,  a 
house  with  open  grates.  Mrs.  Johnston  was  restless  be- 
cause she  could  do  nothing  to  help  meet  our  family  expenses; 
and  Pittsburg  was  not  so  far  from  the  homes  of  our  children. 
We  rented  a  house  on  College  Hill  where  she  hoped  she 
could  "make  a  little  money"  by  boarding  and  lodging  a  few 
young  lad}^  students  and  thus  help  to  keep  the  Ba?iner  afloat 
and  pay  the  interest  on  our  debts  incurred  by  its  purchase 
and  its  continued  publication.  We  furnished  two  rooms  for 
boarders  and  said  to  our  friends,  "Please  tell  young  lady  stu- 
dents that  at  the  opening  of  the  term  we  will  have  rooms  for 
four  of  them."  One  came,  and  only  one,  the  daughter  of 
one  of  our  Pennsylvania  friends.  It  did  not  pay.  But  we 
were  too  proud  to  whine  over  it;  and  the  winter  passed 
away  and  we  survived,  though  our  indebtedness  steadily 
increased.  Meanwhile  I  occupied  my  "den"  and  from  time 
to  time  sent  to  the  Pittsburg  printer  my  "copy"  for  the 
Banner  and.  received  from  him  now  and  then  a  roll  of  "proof 
slips,"  so  that  I  did  not  need  to  go  into  Pittsburg  more  than 

(572) 


NEW  homp:  for  "our  banner."  573 

once   a  month   and  this  to  make  up  what  the  printers  call 
"the  dummy"  and  to  leave  the  addressed  wrappers. 

In  Beaver  Falls  we  had  warm  friends,  some  of  them 
friends  in  daj^s  of  yore,  old  and  tried.  Had  it  not  been  for 
our  unpleasant  financial  circumstances  and  the  unhappy 
condition  of  the  church  there,  we  would  have  been  glad  to 
make  it  our  life  home.  The  beautiful  country  around,  the 
good  society,  Geneva  College,  and  the  many  excellent  friends 
and  brethren  in  the  church,  all  would  have  made  it  a  desira- 
ble place  of  residence.  But  it  was  not  ours  to  enjoy  it. 
Nor  was  it  desirable  then.  During  the  eight  or  nine  months 
we  were  there  the  most  of  the  people,  church  and  college, 
were  in  a  state  of  ebullition.  Exciting  scenes  growing  out 
of  the  discussion  of  National  Reform  questions  and  follow- 
ing the  calling  of  a  pastor  to  the  Geneva  congregation  pre- 
vented us  from  enjoying  that  peace  and  quiet  and  comfort 
which  are  almost  essential  to  growth  in  the  Christian  life. 
We  could  not  escape  from  them,  we  could  not  ignore  them. 
I  w^as  not  a  member  of  Pittsburg  Presbyter>'  but  I  w^as  resi- 
dent within  its  bounds.  Mrs.  Johnston  did  not  present  her 
certificate  to  the  session  of  the  new  congregation,  but  we 
worshiped  with  them  on  Sabbaths  in  the  college  chapel,  and 
for  the  sake  of  our  common  mother  church  we  were  deeply 
interested  in  whatever  interested  them  and  her.  The  ques- 
tion that  then  agitated  the  National  Reformers  had  reference 
to  the  proper  terms  to  be  used  in  the  constitutional  amend- 
ments which  Congress  was  petitioned  to  favor.  The  ques- 
tion agitating  the  Geneva  congregation  referred  to  the 
settlement  of  the  pastor  who  had  been  called.  His  alleged 
sentiments  as  to  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society  and  proba- 
bly as  to  all  involuntary  associations,  were  offensive  to  a 
minority,  and  these  endeavored  to  prevent  his  installation. 
And  so  it  was  almost  impossible  for  us  to  be  neutral  in 
questions  of  public  church  interests.     Besides,  as  the  resi- 


574  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSKT   LAND. 

dent  editor  of  a  magr.zii.e  legarded  as  a  church  organ,  I 
could  not  ignore  the  moral  or  ecclesiastical  battles  that  were 
being  fought.  And  so  it  happened  that  when  there  were 
public  meetings  in  the  interest  of  the  one  or  the  other,  or 
meetings  of  the  Presbytery  to  settle  questions  on  which  the 
congregation  was  divided,  the  Banner  was  expected  to 
report  the  proceedings  and  the  editor  to  characterize  them. 
For  endeavoring  to  do  so  correctly  and  faithfully  he  was 
subjected  to  all  manner  of  censure  or  severe  criticism. 
Some  strong  partisans  said:  "Stop  my  Bcunnry  Some 
used  the  pen  in  other  journals  to  rebuke  it;  and  so  the 
Banner  was  tossed  about  somewhat  roughly  in  the  stormy 
winds  of  strife.  I  would  gladly  have  been  back  in  the  "City 
of  Brotherly  Love."  It  happened  also  that  the  /hnmer  was 
not  popular  with  the  college.  The  editor  did  not  like  the 
prominence  given  to  the  outside  and  beastly  forms  of  ath- 
letics when  so  few  of  the  students,  children  of  the  church 
or  members  of  it,  were  interested  in  the  cause  of  missions. 
He  disliked  the  toleration  given  to  the  use  of  tobacco;  and 
he  was  especially  grieved  at  the  Sabbath  desecration  to 
which  the  Saturday  ball-game  contests  led.  For  speaking 
his  mind  and  for  his  efforts  to  eifect  the  reform,  the  editor 
was  not  in  danger  of  being  too  popular  with  many  members 
of  faculty  or  of  the  students.  Well,  it  did  not  hurt  him 
very  much,  but  yet  it  did  not  tie  him  to  College  Hill  when 
for  other  reasons  he  wished  to  be  away. 

In  our  desire  to  be  free  from  debt  and  to  be  able  to  con- 
tinue the  Bonner  whose  friends  assured  me  was  doing  a 
good  work  as  an  organ  of  the  truth,  I  made  a  hasty  trip  to 
California  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  sell  our  little  property 
in  Oakland.  I  remained  there  two  or  three  weeks  in  a 
fruitless  effort.  Such  was  the  condition  of  the  finances  and 
the  real-estate  market  that  I  had  to  return  in  disappoint- 
ment.    It  seemed  impossible  to  continue  the  Banner  with- 


NEW    HOME    FOR    "OUR    BANNER."  575 

out  incurring  more  debt  and  to  this  I  could  not  consent.  In 
my  straits  I  tried  once  more  to  negotiate  with  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  other  monthly  in  the  hope  that  the  two  might  be 
combined.  I  failed  as  before.  Then — well,  I  began  to  fear 
that  my  "better  half"  would  be  sorry  she  ever  married  a 
poor  preacher  and  a  poor  publisher.  And  then  my  pride 
was  touched.  I  feared  the  shame  of  failure  in  my  efforts  to 
keep  afloat  the  Jyauncr  of  truth.  For  who  does  not  know 
that  in  the  judgment  of  the  world  (and  in  this  church  peo- 
ple are  much  the  .same),  failure,  however  good  the  cause,  is 
shameful.  Success  in  whatever  effort,  l)ad  or  good,  meets 
with  applause. 

"And  wlien  thou  to  thyself  d<jst  well, 
Men  will  thee  praises  sive." 

In  my  perplexity  I  resolved  to  make  another  effort  to 
diminish  the  number  of  church  papers,  and  I  opened  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  publisher  of  the  Christian  Nation,  the 
weekly  paper  that  Synod  had  commended  to  the  patronage 
of  the  people.  This  correspondence  began  shortly  before 
the  meeting  of  Synod  in  1S94.  It  resulted  in  a  harmonious 
agreement  that  I  wf)uld  give  to  Mr.  Pritchard  the  subscrip- 
tion list  and  the  "good-will"  of  our  Ban)icr  on  two  condi- 
tions, viz.,  that  he  would  send  the  Natioi  free  of  charge  to 
Ba)i)ic)-  subscribers  who  had  paid  in  advance,  whether  a 
month  or  a  year,  and  that  I  would  collect  and  retain  any 
moneys  due  to  the  Bau)uy  at  the  time  of  the  transfer,  viz., 
the  middle  of  the  volume  or  June  30.  In  our  agreement, 
however,  it  was  expressly  stipulated  that  the  contract  and 
the  transfer  would  ncjt  be  confirmed  or  take  place  in  case 
Synod  would  take  any  action  with  reference  to  a  church 
paper  that  would  make  it  unnecessary^  for  me  to  give  up  the 
Banner.  Synod  took  no  such  action,  and  so  our  bargain 
was  closed.  Immediately  after  Synod  I  handed  over  my  list 
to  Mr.  Pritchard.     In  the   next  issue  of  the  Nation   I  an- 


576  LOOKING   BA.CK     FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

nounced  the  transfer  and  explained  its  conditions,  and  all  the 
subscribers  of  the  Baiuicr  received  that  number  of  the  A^ation 
and  subsequent  numbers.  Mr.  Pritchard  honorably  fulfilled 
his  contract.  Letters  which  I  received  from  time  to  time 
from  my  old  friends  indicated  regret  that  I  had  been  obliged 
to  give  up  the  Banner.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  burden  of 
debt  under  which  I  was  still  laboring,  I  would  have  felt  a 
great  relief  now  that  I  was  a  free  man,  no  longer  caged  in 
an  editor's  "den"  or  harassed  by  a  publisher's  corroding 
cares. 

If  the  reader  has  not  already  seen  the  causes  that  led  to 
the  indebtedness  alluded  to  above  a  few  words  will  make  it 
plainer.  When  I  paid  $i  ,000  for  the  Banner  list  and  "good- 
will," I  was  assured  by  those  who,  as  I  supposed,  knew  the 
facts,  that  at  least  that  amount  would  be  collected  from  the 
subscribers  who  were  in  arrears.  Few  of  the  dues  were  ever 
paid.  The  debtors  either  had  trivial  excuses  or  never  made 
any  response  whatever  to  the  bills  sent  to  them.  Thus  most 
of  the  money  paid  out  in  the  purchase  of  the  Banner  was  a 
loss  without  anything  to  balance  it.  Then  hundreds  who 
had  accepted  the  peculiar  sentiments  of  the  former  editor 
ceased  to  be  subscribers.  Many  were  dissatisfied  because 
they  no  longer  received  both  Statesman  and  Banner  at 
reduced  rates.  The  weekly  papers  had  preference  with  very 
many  who  could  not  pay  for  a  monthl}"-  also.  Many  who 
had  always  taken  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  and  Covenanter, 
upon  which  even  two  editors  bestowed  little  editorial  labor, 
seemed  incapable  of  appreciating  the  Banner  upon  which  so 
much  was  bestowed.  Besides  all  this,  many  whose  names 
were  on  our  list  never  paid  a  dollar  and  had  to  be  dropped 
as  "dead-heads." 

All  the  above  makes  a  dark  picture.  For  want  of  a 
brighter  the  Banner  that  had  so  many  rivals,  all  clamoring 
for  support,  had  to  succutnb.     Yet  no  one  may  infer  that  it 


NEW    HOMK    FOR    "OUR    BANNER."  577 

lacked  friends.  It  had  many,  but  the  entire  membership  of 
the  church  was  too  small  to  support  so  many  papers,  monthly 
and  weekly.  Some  had  to  fail.  At  this  writing  there  is 
only  one  weekly,  the  Xafioii,  and  one  monthly,  the  Herald 
of  Mission  Neics,  both  published  in  New  York.  In  this 
reckoning  the  smaller  local  papers  are  not  counted.  Some 
of  these,  as  the  Covenanter  Record 2i\\di  the  Covenanter  Ensign, 
are  well  edited  and  are  doing  a  good  work. 

The  last  number  of  the  Banner,  June,  1894,  was  issued  in 
time  to  be  in  the  hands  of  most  of  the  ministers  before  the 
meeting  of  Synod  in  Philadelphia.  At  that  time  I  did  not 
know  that  it  would  be  the  last,  though  I  feared  it.  It 
depended  upon  what  Synod  would  do  or  not  do.  This  last 
issue  had  forty-eight  pages,  thirty-one  of  which  contained 
fresh  editorial  matter.  Among  the  editorials  were  such  as 
these:  "A  Plea  for  the  Young  Men,"  meaning  the  theological 
students;  "Plea  for  the  Proposed  Mission  to  China;"  "Shall 
We  Obey  the  I^aw  of  Purity?"  or  a  testimony  against  tobacco; 
"Mint,  Anise  and  Cummin,"  a  testimony  against  ministers 
wearing  the  mustache  if  alone;  and  an  article  that  had  been 
sent  to  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  and  Covenanter  but  shut 
out.  This  was  about  "Chhiese  Mission  Work,"  meaning 
work  in  the  Oakland  mission.  In  another,  "What  Synod 
Should  Do,"  the  following  were  mentioned:  "Appoint  Mis- 
sionaries to  China;"  "Authorize  the  Board  to  Select  and 
Educate  at  Geneva  College  Brainy  and  Pious  Students  from 
Our  Missions,  Southern,  Chinese,  and  Indian,  That  They 
May  Be  Prepared  for  the  Theological  Seminary  and  the  Mis- 
sion Fields,"  "Stop  the  Reading  of  Sermons  by  All  Ministers 
and  lyicentiates,"  or  erase  from  our  Testimony  (chapter  24, 
section  7),  the  declaration  that  "the  ministers  of  religion 
have  no  warrant  for  reading  their  sermons  to  the  congrega- 
tion." On  the  last  page  was  a  significant  item,  viz.,  "When 
the  editor  began  his  work  in  Our  Banner  he  had  pleasant 
37 


578  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE)   SUNSET    LAND. 

expectations  of  being  able  not  to  please  everybody.  He  now 
rejoices  that  thus  far  he  has  met  with  no  serious  disappoint- 
ment." 

After  Synod,  when  the  Christian  Instructor ,  a  United  Pres- 
byterian paper,  had  learned  that  Our  Bajuier  had  been 
merged  in  the  Christian  Nation,  the  editor.  Rev.  Dr.  Collins, 
said:  "We  are  sorry  that  Our  Banner,  which  has  been  a 
fearless  journal  during  its  history,  and  especially  since  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  late  editor.  Rev.  N.  R.  Johnston,  has 
ceased  to  exist.  We  shall  miss  its  spicy  columns."  The 
Reformed  Presbyterian  and  Covenanter,  a  Covenanter  paper, 
said:  '"'Our  Banjier,  edited  and  published  by  Rev.  N.  R. 
Johnston,  has  been  disposed  of  to  the  publisher  of  the  Chris- 
tia7i  Nation.  The  June  number  of  Our  Banner  concludes 
the  issues."     The  reader  can  see  the  difference. 

The  Synod  of  1894  met  in  Philadelphia  and  in  the  second 
Church.  Rev.  J.  C.  McFeeters,  the  pastor,  was  the  moder- 
ator. Mrs.  Johnston  went  with  me,  and  among  our  many 
old  friends  we  had  a  good  time. 

That  Synod  was  somewhat  memorable  for  its  progress  in 
efforts  to  inaugurate  the  foreign  mission  in  China.  Our 
beloved  physician,  Rev.  Dr.  Methenyof  the  Tarsus  mission, 
was  present.  He  presented  a  petition  of  his  own  that  Synod 
would,  at  this  meeting,  appoint  missionaries  to  China.  The 
Board  had  previously  prepared  its  report  saying,  "Nothing 
has  been  done  toward  the  establishing  of  a  mission  in  China. 
There  is  money  in  hand  to  begin  the  work,  but  no  response 
has  yet  been  made  to  the  repeated  calls  for  volunteers." 
The  committee  on  missions  recommended  that  Synod  now 
elect  two  missionaries.  Rev.  Elmer  McBurney  and  Rev.  R. 
J.  Mclsaac  were  chosen.  Objections  being  made  to  the 
latter  because  of  his  connection  with  the  Selma  freedman's 
mission,  he  did  not  accept,  and  the  Board  was  authorized  to 
select  another  and  send  him  out  with  Mr.  McBurney.     The 


NEW    HOME    FOR       OUR    BANNER.  579 

prospect  of  a  mission  to  China  now  looked  very  hopeful.  A 
great  amount  of  important  business  was  transacted,  but 
Synod  showed  that  Our  Banner  was  not  received  as  its  dic- 
tator. Except  in  the  appointment  of  the  missionary  to 
China,  nothing  was  done  in  reference  to  the  things  that  the 
June  number  of  the  magazine  had  said  should  be  done.  As 
to  the  tobacco  part  of  the  report  on  temperance  the  following 
remarkable  deliverance  was  made:  "We  renew  our  condem- 
nation of  the  use  of  tobacco,  .  .  .  and  we  warn  the 
young  against  this  insidious  evil,"  etc.  Anti-cigarette 
clubs  were  commended  whose  members  promise  not  to 
smoke  until  after  they  are  twenty-one  years  of  age;  and  min- 
isters and  church-members  were  enjoined  to  obey  the  com- 
mand, "Keep  thyself  pure."  Did  that  committee  of  Synod 
expect  this  action  to  introduce  the  millennium  of  purity? 

During  that  vSynod  I  had  much  delight  in  frequent  inter- 
views with  Dr.  Metheny.  I  will  go  down  to  the  grave  ever 
having  a  joyous  remembrance  of  them.  His  influence  in 
Synod  to  bring  about  the  appointment  of  missionaries  to 
China  was  very  great.  I  question  if  any  progress  would 
have  been  made,  as  the  Board  had  done  nothing,  if  he  had 
not  been  so  earnest  in  his  pleas.  When  the  time  of  our 
parting  came  I  was  sad  in  the  fear  that  we  would  never  meet 
again  on  this  side  of  the  veil. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 
Our  Pacific  Home  Again. 

As  at  Synod  nothing  occurred  to  prevent  the  transfer  of 
the  Banner  list  to  the  publisher  of  the  Nation,  before  we  left 
Philadelphia  we  had  decided  to  return  to  our  home  in  Oak- 
land, Cal.,  where  our  cottage  was  standing  empty  waiting 
for  us.  Accordingly  soon  after  our  return  to  our  temporary 
home  at  Beaver  Falls  we  began  to  prepare  for  removal.  We 
had  found  so  many  good  people  there  and  so  many  warm 
friends,  it  was  not  without  regrets  that  we  thought  of  leav- 
ing College  Hill.  There  was  my  beloved  nephew.  President 
W.  P.  Johnston,  ever  dear  to  me  not  only  for  his  father's 
sake  but  for  his  own.  And  then  his  most  excellent  wife  and 
family  had  become  endeared  to  us.  It  was  not  pleasant  to 
think  of  lea\dng  behind  all  our  friends  including  our  own 
children  perhaps  never  to  meet  again.  After  our  goods  were 
packed  and  billed  for  California  we  were  detained  some  time 
before  the}'  could  be  shipped.  It  was  just  at  the  time  when 
the  great  railroad  strike  was  in  progress  and  when  in  Chi- 
cago and  other  places  the  riots  and  conflagrations  caused  by 
the  strikers  were  causing  terror  all  over  the  country. 

Leaving  Beaver  Falls  we  journe^^ed  to  Utica,  O. ,  to  visit 
our  daughter,  Mrs.  Kirkpatrick,  and  famil5^  They  were 
residing  in  the  old  mansion  and  on  the  farm  lying  adjacent 
to  the  town,  and  he  and  the  older  boys  were  all  farmers. 
On  that  same  old  farm  had  lived  and  died  two  generations  of 
Kirkpatricks  and  Covenanters— Grandfather  Peter  Kirkpat- 
rick, a  ruling  elder,  and  James  M.  Kirkpatrick,  also  an  elder, 

(580) 


OUR    PACIFIC    HOME    AGAIN.  58 1 

the  father  of  the  present  occupant.  Before  marriage  Mary  had 
become  quite  an  artist.  We  found  her  now  busy  caring  for 
her  boys,  big  and  Httle,  and  looking  after  her  numerous 
broods  of  young  chickens.  The  brush  had  been  left  behind 
in  California  and  now  the  duties  of  a  mother  and  of  a  farm- 
er's wife  left  no  time  for  the  study  of  landscape  or  canvas 
lights  and  shades.  While  lingering  here  I  rambled  with  the 
boys,  or  went  a-fishing  in  the  neighboring  creek,  more  con- 
cerned about  the  grandchildren  than  the  finny  tribe,  and 
studying  and  wondering  what  those  boys  would  become  and 
what  they  would  do  after  I  had  passed  from  earth.  Happy 
boyhood  !  How  little  did  they  know  of  their  future!  Nay, 
rather,  how  little  did  they  know  of  themselves  as  under 
parental  authority  and  divine  law,  or  of  the  responsibilities 
that  will  erelong  rest  upon  them;  and  just  as  little  do  chil- 
dren know  of  a  mother's  anxiety  about  them  and  her  intense 
desire  for  their  future  usefulness  and  salvation.  Close  by  on 
an  adjacent  farm  resides  my  nephew  and  mj^  namesake, 
Robinson  Johnston,  whose  most  excellent  wife  is  a  sister  of 
our  son-in-law,  Mr.  Kirkpatrick.  He  is  an  elder  in  the  Utica 
session  and  is  happy  in  his  family,  all  beautiful  daughters. 
Peculiar  sight  was  that — Marjory's  children  all  girls,  Mary's 
all  boys.  Perhaps  the  cousins  were  satisfied.  As  for  the 
parents,  the  one  may  sing: — 

"  So  may  our  sons  in  bloom  of  youth 
Vie  with  the  palm  tree's  stately  growth;  " 

and  the  other: 

"With  sculptured  stones  our  daughters  vie, 
That  grace  some  royal  structure  high." 

While  we  remained  with  our  children  at  that  old  home- 
stead every  hour  seemed  precious  to  me,  for  I  could  not  know 
whether  that  would  be  my  last  visit  with  those  I  loved  so 
well.  I  always  loved  that  loving  and  faithful  daughter,  but 
when  I  saw  her  an  anxious  and  faithful  mother  of  so  many 


582     LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

little  boys,  I  loved  her  more  than  ever.  When  the  hour  of 
separation  came  it  was  hard  to  say,  "Farewell,  Mary."  If  it 
could  have  been  I  would  have  remained  in  that  old  house 
with  the  loved  ones  whom  I  could  hardly  hope  to  see  again 
with  these  eyes  then  growing  dim  in  the  light  of  their 
seventy -fourth  summer.  And  then  the  distance  between 
Ohio  and  California  seemed  so  great. 

Our  next  visit  was  at  Ray,  Ind.,  with  our  daughter  Rosie, 
Mrs.  Walker,  now  the  mother' of  two  little  children.  At 
that  time  the  pastor  was  happy  in  his  relation  with  the  flock. 
It  seemed  as  though  that  would  be  his  life  field  of  labor. 
But  the  Good  Shepherd  knows  best.  Happy  is  that  servant 
who  can  submit  without  complaint  to  the  will  of  the  Master. 

On  our  return  to  California  we  found  our  Highland  Park 
cottage  empty  and  ready  for  our  occupancy  except  that  it 
was  in  very  bad  repair.  Much  of  the  time  that  we  had  been 
in  the  east  the  property  had  been  rented  to  parties  that  had 
been  little  better  than  vandals ;  and  a  part  of  the  time  it 
had  been  unoccupied  and  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  marauders 
who  had  injured  the  lawn  and  fences  and  fruit  trees.  Every 
thing  around  our  home  that  we  had  tried  to  make  comforta- 
ble for  ourselves  in  our  old  age  was  now  so  abused,  notwith- 
standing that  we  had  paid  a  man  to  care  for  it  in  our  absence, 
that  for  some  reasons  we  were  sorry  we  ever  left  it  for  the 
sake  of  the  Banner  or  aught  else.  Was  that  sorrow  sinful  ? 
Did  it  result  from  greater  love  to  bodily  and  earthly  interests 
than  the  higher  interests  of  religion  and  of  the  life  immortal  ? 
I  do  confess,  however,  that  I  could  not  forget  that  our  going 
east  to  publish  and  edit  the  magazine  had  resulted  in  what 
many  would  call  a  failure  and  had  involved  us  in  heavy 
financial  loss  and  debt.  To  this  was  added  another  source 
of  sorrow.  When  we  came  back  to  our  former  field  of  labor 
we  found  the  Oakland  mission  in  a  more  dilapidated  condi- 
tion.    At  first  we  did  not  understand  it.     It  was  not  long. 


OUR    PACIFIC    HOME    AGAIN.  5S3 

however,  until  the  causes  were  manifest.  But  the  low  and 
sad  condition  of  the  mission  was  due  to  causes  that  could 
not  be  made  public  or  known  to  the  church  in  the  east  and 
which  are  almost  unknown  yet.  How  happy  might  have 
been  the  condition  of  the  mission  if  all  had  done  their  duty  ; 
but  now  its  hedges  were  broken  down,  the  vineyard  neglected, 
and  the  garden  almost  waste  for  want  of  culture.  Who  that 
loves  the  cause  of  mis.sions,  the  cause  of  Christ,  could  be 
aught  but  sad  ?  Yet  there  was  a  partial  antidote.  The 
avenues  to  labor  or  effort  to  make  things  better  were  not  all 
closed  ;  and  probably  the  best  cure  for  despondency  is  work  ; 
and  everybody  knows  that  work  is  healthful.  In  this  is 
manifest  the  goodness  of  Him  who  made  this  law  :  Work  and 
be  healthful,  work  and  be  useful,  work  and  be  happy. 

We  found  plenty  to  do.  I  had  no  authoritative  appoint- 
ment, but  when  the  missionary  in  charge  was  absent  on  the 
Sabbath  I  preached  in  the  mission.  I  did  this  partly  to  keep 
the  mission  together,  for  some  of  the  American  Covenanters 
had  gone  into  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  some  of  the 
Chinese  members  had  gone  away  or  had  dropped  out;  and 
partly  that  I  might  not  be  compelled  to  worship  in  a  Cov- 
enanter mission  where  unappointed  lay  preachers  conducted 
the  service.  One  of  these  was  not  a  member  of  the  church. 
Strange  though  it  may  seem  yet  the  missionary  in  charge 
preached  only  one  Sabbath  in  the  month,  and  then  on  the 
other  Sabbaths  his  place  was  occupied  by  a  United  Presby- 
terian minister  and  two  laymen,  one  a  United  Presbyterian 
and  the  other  a  Covenanter.  With  such  arrangements  and 
practises  I  was  so  dissatisfied  that  I  was  willing  to  risk 
criticism  or  censure  in  an  effort  to  abolish  them  ;  and  so  I 
preached  without  appointment.  The  missionary  was  often 
absent,  though  no  one  knew  where  he  was.  After  his 
departure  east  I  preached  every  Sabbath.  I  knew  I  had  the 
favor  of    the   Chinese   Christians   and   I   hoped   I   had   the 


584  LOOKING    BACK    PROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

approbation  of  the  Master.  Judged  by  the  law  of  prudence 
or  poHc}'  perhaps  I  was  not  justified,  for  my  action  may 
have  had  somewhat  to  do  with  the  diminution  of  the  number 
attending  the  Sabbath  services  in  the  mission  chapel.  Three 
families  of  the  United  Presbyterian  brethren  had  long 
worshiped  with  the  Covenanters  because  they  would  not 
unite  with  the  United  Presbj^terian  congregation  that  used 
the  organ  in  worship.  They  now  united  with  the  "New- 
Light"  Covenanters  and  so  ceased  to  attend  our  meetings. 
For  a  long  time  some  had  hoped  that  those  anti-organ  United 
Presbyterians  would  become  Covenanters  and  be  an  addition 
to  the  little  Covenanter  mission  society  ;  but  they  were  all 
too  much  wedded  to  the  ballot,  and  they  continued  to  oppose 
our  Covenanters  position  of  political  dissent.  As  there  is 
no  organization  of  "  New-Lights"  in  Oakland,  at  this  writing 
they  attend  worship  at  the  United  Presbyterian  Church 
though  the  organ  is  still  used.  In  this  writing  I  do  not 
forget  that  those  quondam  United  Presbyterian  friends  were 
and  are  all  honorable  and  excellent  Christian  people  with 
whom  I  had  long  had  most  pleasant  Christian  fellowship. 
Rev.  Mr.  Morrow  was  and  is  a  man  and  Christian  of  sterling 
integrity  ;  and  I  ever  prized  him  highly.  But  I  was  a  "stiff" 
old  Covenanter  that  would  not  go  to  the  polls,  and  he  was 
just  as  stiff  in  his  determination  to  use  the  ballot  at  every 
election.  And  so  we  could  not  be  in  the  same  church  society 
and  sit  at  the  same  communion  table.  To  the  world  and  to 
the  liberal  Christian  this  seems  "  awfuU}-  illiberal."  Nor 
shall  we  denounce  our  political  friends.  Not  without  good 
reason  did  the  great  apostle  write :  ' '  But  why  dost  thou 
judge  thy  brother?  or  why  dost  thou  set  at  naught  thy 
brother?  for  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ." 

During  the  later  years  of  our  home  in   California   Mrs. 
Johnston  had  been  busy  in  W.  C.  T.  U.  work.     On  learning 


OUR    PACIFIC   HOME    AGAIN.  585 

that  she  had  returned  to  the  state  again,  Mrs.  Bateham^ 
national  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  Observance  Depart- 
ment, appointed  her  as  superintendent  of  the  same  depart- 
ment for  the  Pacific  Coast.  Mrs.  Johnston  accepted  the 
appointment  and  began  to  arrange  for  the  work.  But  before 
she  had  accomplished  anything  she  became  a  severe  sufferer 
from  a  slight  cause.  Before  we  left  Beaver  Falls  a  sewing 
needle,  or  broken  part  of  it,  was  accidentally  lodged  in  her 
foot.  She  suffered  no  pain  and  paid  little  attention  to  it. 
Weeks  passed,  and  shortly  after  our  return  to  Oakland  the 
foot  became  inflamed,  the  sore  festered,  and  the  needle  was 
taken  out.  This  was  followed  by  blood  poisoning.  During 
many  weeks  of  suffering  the  foot  and  limb  were  in  a  critical 
condition  and  she  a  cripple  unable  to  walk.  This  arrested 
all  plans  of  work  for  the  Sabbath  ;  and  she  was  obliged  to 
communicate  the  same  to  Mrs.  Bateham. 

During  these  weeks  the  California  State  Sabbath  Asso- 
ciation, which  had  become  defunct,  was  reorganized  and 
began  vigorous  efforts  in  behalf  of  Sabbath  observance  and 
especially  to  procure  a  state  Sabbath  law.  At  the  first  state 
convention,  when  the  association  was  organized,  I  was  chosen 
corresponding  secretary.  In  the  progress  of  the  new  move- 
ment the  appointment  devolved  upon  me  a  large  amount  of 
work,  and  during  our  campaign  in  behalf  of  a  state  law 
this  work  increased.  Besides  this,  as  a  member  of  the 
executive  committee  of  twelve,  of  which  I  was  the  secretary, 
I  had  much  work  to  do,  and,  together  with  other  members, 
attended  many  meetings  and  conventions,  and  occasionally 
spoke  or  lectured  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath.  These  gave  me 
opportunities  to  teach  and  defend  the  truth,  so  little  known 
or  believed,  as  to  the  duty  of  the  state  or  government  to 
recognize  the  divine  law  as  supreme  and  the  duty  of  the 
lyCgislature  to  enact  a  state  Sabbath  law  because  the  fourth 
commandment  requires  it,  /.  e.,  because  God  requires  it.     On 


586      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LANt). 

this  committee  were  representatives  from  the  leading  evan- 
gelical denominations,  and  mosth^  ministers.  Some  of  these 
were  the  ablest  and  mo.st  influential  men  in  the  churches. 
As  I  was  without  a  pastoral  charge  the  pastors  in  the  com- 
mittee imposed  upon  me  more  than  my  share  of  the  work, 
and  I  submitted  to  it  partly  because  it  gave  me  an  apology 
for  my  frequent  advocacy  of  the  truth  as  to  the  relations  of 
the  Sabbath  to  law.  They  knew  I  was  a  Covenanter;  and 
while  some  of  them  tolerated  me  and  did  not  care  to  combat 
my  sentiments,  others  sometimes  did  and  pleasant  discussions 
resulted.     I  hope  the  truth  did  not  suffer. 

While  working  with  these  friends  ot  the  Sabbath  I  had 
much  pleasant  and  profitable  Christian  communion;  and  to 
some  of  them  I  became  warml}^  attached.  Working  with 
others  in  any  good  cause  tends  to  the  love  of  the  co- 
workers. There  were  others  whom  I  loved,  but  two  have  a 
very  warm  place  in  my  affections.  One  was  Rev.  John 
Kimball,  a  Congregational  minister  and  the  managing  editor 
of  the  Pacific,  the  organ  of  that  denomination  on  the  coast. 
He  was  a  Vermonter.  He  came  to  San  Francisco  soon  after 
we  did  and  in  a  short  time  we  were  friends.  W^e  were  of 
different  churches,  but  we  agreed  on  so  many  important 
truths  and  reforms  we  did  not  care  to  dispute  about  the 
others.  He  was  interested  in  the  work  among  the  Chinese, 
and  the  Pacific  was  always  open  to  whatever  I  chose  to  write 
for  it.  When  he  came  into  our  Sabbath  Executive  Com- 
mittee we  almost  alwaj's  agreed  on  Sabbath  questions  and 
worked  in  harmou}'.  And  then  he  was  a  lovely  man — tender 
in  his  feelings,  in  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  the  wronged, 
genial  and  gentlemanh',  and  orthodox  too.  And  he  was  a 
man  of  sorrows.  These  were  blessed  for  his  betterment. 
At  this  writing  he  is  in  bodily  sickness  from  which  he  may 
never  recover.     I  feel  sure  that  after  a  little,  when  his  life's 


OUR    PACIFIC    HOME    AGAIN.  587 

work  is  done,  he  will  be  with  Him  whose  saved  ones  never 
say,  I  am  sick.* 

The  other  brother  beloved  is  a  Presbyterian,  Rev.  H.  A. 
Ketchum,  D.  D.,  until  recently  pastor  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Berkeley,  near  Oakland.  He  is  an  Ohioan 
and  resided  in  that  state  until  about  the  time  we  went  to 
Philadelphia  in  189 1.  I  first  met  him  at  our  Sabbath  con- 
vention for  the  reorganization  of  the  state  association^  and 
when  he  was  asked  to  lead  in  prayer,  that  prayer  convinced 
me  that  he  was  right  on  the  vSabbath  question.  At  and  ever 
after  the  first  state  convention  he  was  always  "on  hand," 
ready  for  work  and  intensely  in  earnest.  Side  by  side  we 
have  worked  together  in  the  executive  committee,  much  of 
the  time  he  as  the  chairman  and  I  as  the  secretary.  We  often 
were  on  sub-committees  together  and  in  harmony  working 
together.  A  man  of  uprightness,  purity  of  motive,  and  of 
courage,  and  withal  kindly,  tender-hearted,  I  loved  him. 
He  was  a  Presbyterian  ])y  birth,  education,  and  choice,  but 
he  was  too  good  to  be  at  home  in  a  Presbyterian  California 
pulpit.  He  should  have  been  a  Covenanter.  He  was  nearer 
this  than  Presbyterian  mortals  often  get.  He  was.  greatly 
dissatisfied  with  his  brethren  because  of  their  laxness  or  their 
irregular  life.  He  longed  to  see  them  better  and  the  church 
purer,  but  did  not  know  how  to  bring  it  about.  When  I 
wrote  a  series  of  articles  in  the  Occide?it,  the  organ  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  on  the  coast,  in  which  I  showed  why  I 
was  a  Covenanter  and  not  a  Presbj'terian  (there  were  five 
articles),  after  he  had  read  them  all,  when  we  first  met  he 
said:  "Brother  Johnston,  I  have  read  your  articles;  I  don't 
know  but  you  are  all  right;  but  what  can  I  do?"  A  few 
weeks  passed  when,  tired  of  preaching  to  a  people  who 
under  the  shadow  of  the  great  California  State  University, 

*  A  few  months  after  the  foregoing  was  written,  this  dear  brother 
was  taken  to  the  Father's  house.  We  who  remain  deeply  mourn 
our  loss. 


588      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THK  SUNSET  LAND. 

the  hot-bed  of  Uuitarianism  and  of  secularism,  would  not 
receive  his  teachings  and  follow  his  leadings,  he  resigned  his 
charge  and  will  go  out  not  knowing  whither  he  will  be  led. 
I  could  not  say  to  him,  "Come  with  us  and  we  will  do  you 
good;"  he  was  not  ready  for  that,  and  I  had  nothing  to 
promise  him;  but  my  heart  longed  to  be  able  to  press  his 
right  hand  as  a  Covenanter  brother.  He  read  all  the  Cov- 
enanter documents  I  gave  him  and  never  dissented  from  any 
of  them.  I  know  he  is  not  far  from  the  kingdom.  But  he 
is  a  Presbyterian  minister  and  sees  no  way  to  be  anything 
else.  Under  favorable  circumstances  I  believe  he  would  be 
with  us  in  his  belief  and  practise,  but  I  have  no  hope  of  it. 
Yet  I  love  him  and  I  know  I  will  to  the  end.  Of  what  will 
be  over  on  the  other  side  I  may  not  speak  except  with  care. 
Soon  we  will  know  what  now  is  unknowable  except  in  part.* 

The  Reformed  Presbyterian  Synod  of  1895  met  in  Denver. 
I  could  not  overcome  the  strong  desire  to  be  with  the  dear 
brethren  once  more.  If  the  meeting  had  been  east  of  the 
Mississippi  I  suppose  I  would  not  have  gone;  but  Denver 
seemed  so  near  compared  with  the  ordinary  places  of  meet- 
ing I  thought  I  must  go.  Besides,  I  hoped  to  meet  my  son- 
in-law,  Rev.  Mr.  Walker,  and  then  if  I  should  be  unwell  or 
need  any  help  or  care  I  knew  he  would  be  kind  to  me,  so 
that  I  did  not  hesitate  to  leave  home  at  m}^  advanced  age. 
In  the  question  of  missions  I  was  especially  interested. 
Prior  to  the  Synod  the  Board  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
second  missionary,  Rev.  A.  I.  Robb,  who  had  volunteered 
to  join  Rev.  Elmer  McBurney  in  the  mission  to  China.  To 
some  of  us  this  was  a  cause  of  great  joy  and  thanksgiving. 
What  I  had  desired  and  labored  for  so  long  I  now  saw  to  be 
near  at  hand. 

From  the  Chinese  Christians  in  the  Oakland  mission  and 

*  Since  the  foregoing  was  written  Dr.  Ketchurn  has  accepted  a  call 
to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Salem,  Oregon. 


OUR    PACIFIC    HOME    AGAIN.  589 

all  connected  with  it,  I  had  carried  a  petition  to  Synod 
asking  the  appointment  of  a  missionary  to  Oakland.  The 
petition  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions  which 
afterwards  recommended  that  the  Board  be  directed  to  send 
such  missionary.  The  report  was  adopted,  but  another 
year  passed  without  any  one  being  sent.  At  the  next  Synod 
the  Board  reported  that  no  one  could  be  found  who  would 
accept  the  appointment.  To  the  Chinese  of  the  mission  that 
statement  seemed  exceedingly  strange. 

Believing  that  it  is  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  well- 
quaHfied  women  when  called  by  the  Master  and  having  a 
desire  for  it,  to  exercise  the  office  of  evangelists  or  preachers 
of  the  Word  when  licensed  by  a  Presbyter>^  and  that  women 
should  be  appointed  as  missionaries  and  religious  teachers 
or  medical  missionaries,  I  moved  in  Synod  that  hereafter  our 
theological  seminary  in  Allegheny  shall  be  open  to  educated 
women  and  on  equality  with  men.  The  resolution  was 
strongly  opposed  by  some  leading  members,  but  after  a 
spirited  discussion  it  was  adopted  by  a  large  majority.  I  do 
not  know  that  the  majority  believed  that  women  may  become 
evangelists  or  be  licensed  preachers,  but  it  was  manifest  that 
they  believed  that  women  should  be  admitted  to  all  the 
advantages  of  the  seminary  if  they  wish  it.  And  why  not? 
I  never  did  maintain  that  women  may  be  ordained  to  the 
office  of  the  ministry  nor  to  the  office  of  a  ruling  elder,  for 
either  implies  the  exercise  of  authority  as  a  ruler.  A 
deaconess  may  be  ordained  because  in  the  office  of  the  deacon 
no  authority  or  lule  is  impHed  or  exercised.  There  is  much 
difference  between  licensing  a  woman  to  preach  the  Gospel 
as  an  evangeUst  and  ordaining  her  as  a  pastor  or  to  bear 
rule  and  to  administer  the  sacraments.  This  is  not  the  place 
for  the  argument ;  I  only  state  where  the  truth  hes.  As  yet, 
however,  I  have  not  heard  of  any  women  students  in  the 
seminary.     I  would  hope,  though,  that  if  some  would  enter 


590  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

and  avail  themselves  of  all  the  advantages  of  the  seminary 
others,  and  after  a  little  while,  many  would  enter.  In  India 
and  China,  not  to  mention  other  pagan  lands,  no  one  can  do 
as  much  good  or  have  such  access  to  the  women  as  lady 
physicians  have.  And  I  would  rejoice  now  to  see  a  large 
number  of  well-educated  young  women  in  the  seminary 
being  prepared  to  be  medical  missionaries.  Let  the  women 
of  America  hasten  to  China  to  give  the  Gospel  to  China's 
millions.     God  hasten  the  dajM 

While  at  Synod  I  was  informed  that  Colorado  Presbytery 
had  appointed  me  to  administer  the  sacrament  of  the  Supper 
in  the  Oakland  mission,  and  Rev.  J.  C.  McFeeters,  of  Phila- 
delphia, was  invited  to  assist  as  he  was  about  to  visit  the 
Pacific  Coast.  Rev.  Professor  D.  B.  Willson,  who  also  was 
coming  on  such  a  visit,  was  my  traveling  companion  to 
Oakland.  The  professor  was  better  company  in  travel  than 
I  had  expected,  and  we  had  many  a  good  talk  and  comfort- 
able fellowship.  His  scholarship  and  his  superior  intelli- 
gence make  him  very  profitable  company.  He  remained  in 
Oakland  over  two  Sabbaths,  preaching  on  preparation  Sab- 
bath and  during  the  communion  season.  Rev.  McFeeters 
did  not  come  until  late  in  the  week.  It  was  a  sweet  season 
of  communion.  For  the  first  time  in  the  whole  history  in 
the  work  in  Oakland  we  had  three  ministers  at  a  com- 
munion. It  was  good  to  be  there.  Rev.  McFeeters  was 
our  guest  during  his  stay,  and  we  enjoyed  his  visit  greatly. 
"Behold  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to 
dwell  together  in  unity." 


CHAPTER  IvX. 
Missionaries  Sail  for  China.     Days  of  Gladness. 

After  years  of  labor  and  faith  and  waiting  'in  hope,  as  the 
months  passed  I  was  permitted  to  see  what  I  had  long 
prayed  for — the  sailing  of  Covenanter  missionaries  to  China. 
I  had  been  impatient ;  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  took  his  own 
time.  Sometimes  either  because  of  our  sins  or  for  our  good 
his  chariot  wheels  move  slowly.  We  would  wish  to  have 
the  seed  germinate  and  grow  and  ripen  very  soon  after  the 
sowing;  according  to  His  law  it  must  have  time.  Then  we 
gather  in  the  sheaves,  and  sometimes  far  more  thanw^e  dared 
to  expect. 

When  our  young  brothers  McBurney  and  Robb,  together 
with  their  wives,  arrived  in  Oakland  on  their  way  to  their 
appointed  field,  all  connected  with  the  Oakland  mission  wel- 
comed them  joyously.  A  few  evenings  after  their  arrival 
the  Christian  Chinese  gave  them  a  nice  reception  at  the 
mission  chapel.  The  hall  was  crowded.  The  exercises 
were  exceedingly  pleasant  as  well  as  profitable.  The 
addresses  were  appropriate.  The  young  wives  of  the  mis- 
sionaries w^on  the  favor  of  all.  The  refreshments  were  such 
as  only  Chinese  cooks  can  prepare.  I  was  compelled  to  be 
prominent,  and  probably  no  one  was  so  happy  as  I  who  had 
labored  and  w^aited  and  hoped  during  so  many  years  to  see 
what  I  saw  that  night;  and  I  was  glad  in  God  my  Saviour. 
They  had  two  Sabbaths  to  spend  with  us  before  the  sailing 
of  the  steamer.     On  the  first  Sabbath  one  preached  in  the 

(591) 


592  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSKT    LAND. 

forenoon  and  the  other  in  the  evening.  The  time  between 
the  Sabbaths  was  spent  in  preparing  for  the  voyage,  in 
visiting  the  Chinese  temples  in  San  Francisco,  the  Chinese 
missions  also,  and  stores,  etc.  For  our  guide  companions 
we  had  our  friends  Mr.  Chung  Git  of  our  Oakland  mission 
and  Rev.  Chan  Hon  Fan,  assistant  superintendent  of  the  M. 
E.  mission  in  San  Francisco.  The  former  took  us  to  a  Chi- 
nese restaurant  for  lunch,  and  here  our  young  brothers  took 
their  first  lesson  in  the  use  of  chop-sticks  to  the  amusement 
of  our  Chinese  friends.  Chan  Hon  Fan,  who  is  a  very  good 
English  scholar  and  speaks  our  language  with  great  fluency, 
gave  our  5^oung  missionaries  many  lessons  that  would  be 
helpful  to  them  after  their  arrival  in  China. 

One  day  between  the  Sabbaths  our  generous  brother 
Chung  Git  and  the  other  Chinese  Christians  of  the  mission 
had  a  feast  prepared  for  the  four  missionaries  and  invited 
eight  or  ten  other  friends  also.  It  was  a  royal  feast,  and  we 
had  a  time  of  joy  and  gladness  such  as  does  not  often  come 
in  one  short  lifetime;  and  all  this  for  the  Gospel's  sake,  all 
for  the  sake  of  China  whose  millions  need  the  salvation  that 
has  made  us  so  glad. 

The  missionaries  preached  again  on  the  second  Sabbath. 
Many  Chinese  came  at  night  to  hear  them.  The  varied 
exercises  were  peculiarly  interesting  and  solemn. 

Our  farewell  missionar}^  meeting  was  the  night  before  the 
sailing  of  the  steamer.  As  our  mission  chapel  was  too 
small,  by  the  kindness  of  the  Presbyterians  of  the  First 
Church  the  meeting  was  held  in  their  house  of  worship. 
Addresses  were  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Condit,  Rev.  Jee  Gam, 
Rev.  S.  J.  Masters,  and  by  the  missionaries  and  their  wives. 
Those  three  invited  speakers  were  all  Chinese-speaking  mis- 
sionaries and  represented  three  denominations,  Presbyterian, 
Congregational  and  Methodist.  As  many  Chinese  were 
present.  Rev.  Jee  Gam  gave  part  of  his  address  to  them, 


Rev    Jee  Gam 


MISSIONARIES    SAIL    FOR    CHINA.  593 

In  preparing  the  program  I  had  printed  on  the  reverse  side 
two  selections  from  the  Psalms,  the  sixty-seventh  and  the 
closing  stanzas  of  the  seventy-second,  which  the  mixed  con- 
gregation sang  as  if  they  had  all  been  "old  Psalm-singers." 
Rev.  Dr.  Calhoun  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  and 
Rev.  Ur.  Ketchum,  Presbyterian,  led  in  the  prayers.  As  it 
fell  to  my  lot  to  preside  during  the  evening,  the  substance 
of  my  short  and  extemporaneous  address,  .shortly  before  the 
close,  was  to  express  my  joy  and  thankfulness  at  what  God 
had  done  and  was  now  doing  for  us  as  a  church,  and  to  say 
that  with  one  exception  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
had  more  missions  and  gave  more  money  in  proportion  to 
her  membership  than  any  other  in  the  land.  This  I  was 
led  to  say  at  the  time  because  so  many  were  present  who 
knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  missionary  character  of  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church. 

On  the  day  of  their  sailing  a  large  company  of  friends, 
including  the  Chinese  Christians,  accompanied  them  to  the 
steamer  or  assembled  on  it  to  see  them  off.  They  were 
loaded  with  presents  and  conveniences  for  the  voyage. 
Shortly  before  the  steamer  was  ready  to  c'raw^  in  her  cables 
we  held  a  brief  prayer-meeting  commending  the  out-going 
missionaries  to  the  favor  of  God  in  the  long  voyage.  Rev. 
Dr.  Calhoun,  United  Presbyterian,  was  with  us  and  led  in 
prayer.  The  departing  friends  were  joyous.  The}^  showed 
no  signs  of  regret  that  they  were  going  far  hence  to  the 
Gentiles.  We  bade  them  farewell;  and  leaving  the  steamer 
we  all  stood  on  the  dock  waving  handkerchiefs  and  hats 
until  the  good  ship  Doric  was  under  headway  out  towards 
Golden  Gate  and  the  Pacific.  As  I  gazed  upon  the  staunch 
steamer  carrying  away  the  dear  missionaries  to  the  far-off 
land  of  Sinim  I  rejoiced  in  God  that  I  had  lived  to  see  an 
answer  to  many  prayers.  My  heart  went  with  them.  And 
all  over  the  church,  no  doubt,  daily  prayers  were  offered  to 
38 


594      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

the  blessed  lyord  Jesus  who  promises :  "  I^o !  I  am  with  you 
alway  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

About  the  holidays  in  the  winter  following  I  was  invited  to 
Seattle  to  assist  Rev.  Mr.  McDonald  at  his  communion.  I 
w^as  glad  to  go.  I  had  not  been  there  since  the  organization 
of  the  church.  Meanwhile  the  pastor,  Rev.  Dell  Johnston, 
my  nephew's  son  in  whose  ordination  I  had  taken  part,  had 
gone  out  of  the  church  and  had  taken  as  many  of  the  people 
as  he  could  into  the  United  Presbyterian  Church.  The 
faithful  ones  did  not  follow  but  rallied  and  ultimately  called 
a  pastor  and  are  yet  lo^-al  to  the  old  blue  banner.  I  was 
glad,  moreover,  because  Rev.  Mr.  Armour's  family  were 
now  residing  in  Seattle,  and  I  had  not  seen  him  since  he  left 
Philadelphia.      Old  friends  like  "bad  pennies  will  turn  up." 

It  was  a  happy  communion  season.  I  greatly  enjoyed 
the  services  and  the  fellowships.  I  was  the  guest  of  the 
pastor  and  family,  both  as  kind  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  their 
father.  Except  the  action  sermon  the  heaviest  part  of  the 
work  was  put  upon  me,  and  rightly,  as  I  was  the  invited 
helper.  My  stay  was  unavoidably  short,  but  while  in 
Seattle  I  met  many  good  people,  visited  friends,  and  became 
much  interested  in  that  little  band  of  disciples,  the  only 
fully  organized  congregation  on  the  coast.  If  they  continue 
faithful,  erelong  the}^  may-  be  a  prominent  part  of  a  Pacific 
Coast  Presbytery.     Why  not? 

In  the  following  summer,  by  appointment  of  the  Presby- 
tery, Rev.  Mr.  McDonald  dispensed  the  sacrament  of  the 
supper  in  the  Oakland  mission,  I  assisting.  His  family 
wife  and  two  children,  were  with  him  and  were  our  guests 
during  the  week.  They  were  on  their  way  home  from  the 
Synod  at  Cincinnati.  Fewer  communicants  were  at  that 
communion  I  think  than  ever  before.  The  Christians  were 
scattered,  though  the  few  who  remain  are  faithful  and  are 
making  steady  progress  in  knowledge.     If  all  who  had  been 


MISSIONARIES    SAIL    FOR    CHINA.  595 

baptized  in  this  mission  and  who  have  continued  faithful 
disciples  could  be  residents  in  Oakland  and  organized  into  a 
Covenanter  congregation,  it  would  indeed  be  a  beautiful 
sight.  At  this  writing  Elder  J.  H.  Willson  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  mission.  He  has  occupied  this  position  by 
the  appointment  of  the  Board  ever  since  the  resignation  of 
the  last  missionary.  He  is  a  most  excellent  man  and  full 
of  the  spirit  of  missions.  Prior  to  his  coming  to  Oakland  he 
had  been  engaged  in  mission  work  among  the  Zuni  Indians 
in  Arizona,  which  work  he  resigned  after  the  death  of  his 
wife.  As  superintendent  of  the  Chinese  mission  Mr.  Willson 
has  shown  himself  to  be  a  man  of  great  worth,  of  undoubted 
integrity,  a  good  and  well-tried  Covenanter,  and  a  faithful 
friend  of  the  Chinese.  Both  before  our  going  to  Philadelphia 
in  1 89 1  and  since  our  return  to  Oakland,  I  have  had  much 
intimate  fellowship  with  him  and  I  prize  him  and  love  him 
as  a  true  friend  and  brother.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  however, 
that  for  some  time  his  health  has  become  greatly  enfeebled, 
and  now  he  is  scarcely  able  to  attend  the  mission  at  all. 
His  will  is  good  but  the  ability  is  wanting.  He  has  been 
assisted  by  Miss  Mary  Hill  and  Miss  Trimble,  zealous  and 
faithful  teachers  who  love  the  work  and  never  tire  of  it. 
They  merit  success  in  their  efforts  to  bring  the  untaught  to 
Christ.  At  this  writing  Mrs.  Johnston  is  greatly  interested 
in  teaching  in  the  mission  a  Bible  class  in  the  International 
lycssons.  Some  of  the  Chinese  members  have  memorized 
and  recited  all  the  twenty-six  parables  of  our  lyord.  This 
class  exercise  follows  the  religious  service  of  the  Sabbath,  or 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Chinese. 

As  an  illustration  of  how  pleasant  it  is  to  work  among  the 
strangers  on  the  coast  mention  may  be  made  of  what  occurred 
recently' .  As  a  recognition  of  the  merits  of  those  who  had 
memorized  the  parables,  the  teachers  in  the  mission  planned 
a  surprise  gift  of  a  beautiful  copy  of  a  teacher's  Bible  to  each. 


596      LOOKING  BACK  FROM  THE  SUNSET  LAND. 

The  presentation  was  made  at  the  close  of  the  weekly  praj^er- 
meeting.  All  present  were  asked  to  remain  a  little.  The 
act  of  presentation  with  a  suitable  address  to  the  recipients 
was  assigned  to  me.  The  Bibles  were  laid  upon  the  table. 
I  called  forward  to  it  the  young  men  who  were  to  receive 
them.  They  did  not  know  what  I  was  about  to  do,  but 
they  obeyed  my  call,  for  I  said:  "You  are  my  children,  and 
you  must  be  obedient."  With  complete  surprise  to  them 
the  beautiful  books  were  put  into  their  hands  with  an  ex- 
planation of  the  act  of  donation  by  the  teachers.  The 
remarks  as  to  the  excellency  of  the  Bible  were  for  the  benefit 
of  all  present  as  well  as  of  the  recipients.  These  responded 
with  nice  little  speeches  in  English.  Then  followed  refresh- 
ments and  a  half  hour  of  .social  enjoyments  profitable  to 
Christians.  All  were  happy.  To  me  that  evening's  prayer- 
meeting  and  what  followed  gave  a  richer  feast  than  if  I  had 
been  in  a  king's  palace  or  the  White  House  at  Washington. 
And  right  here  at  the  close  of  this  chapter  I  wish  to  add 
that  during  all  the  years  of  a  long  life  of  service  I  never 
enjoyed  any  other  more  than  I  did  that  done  among  the 
Chinese.  A  people  of  marked  intellectuality,  peaceable,  kind 
and  grateful  and  yet  coming  to  us  for  help — -coming  from  a 
darkness  of  pagan  idolatrj'  and  superstition  out  of  which  if 
we  do  not  lead  them  they  must  perish— have  a  claim  upon  us 
that  has  no  superior.  And  when  these  darkened  minds  and 
burdened  souls  are  brought  into  the  light  and  into  the  free- 
dom of  the  Gospel,  they  become  very  dear  brothers  in  Christ. 
They  are  his  grateful  saved  ones  and  we  rejoice  with  them. 
Our  motto  has  been  "China  for  Christ."  Will  not  those 
who  survive  us  bear  it  on  until  the  triumphant  banner  of 
the  cross  shall  wave  over  ever^^  valley  and  on  every  moun- 
tain-top of  "the  middle  kingdom"?  Except  during  the 
short  time  that  we  remained  in  Oakland  after  Rev.  Mr. 
Patton  took  charge  of  the  mission,  during  all  the  eighteen 


Missionaries  sail  for  chin  A.  597 

or  nineteen  years  of  our  residence  there  I  was  deprived  most 
of  the  time  of  the  privilege  of  fellowship  with  my  brothers  in 
the  ministry.  It  was  a  sore  trial  and  I  suffered  great  loss. 
I  submitted  to  it  in  the  hope  that  my  loss  would  be  balanced 
by  gain  to  others.  Similar  loss  is  suffered  by  all  mission- 
aries w^ho  labor  alone  among  any  people.  In  the  work  in 
Oakland  it  seemed  to  be  impracticable  for  more  than  one 
ministerial  laborer  to  be  employed.  Perhaps,  however,  the 
law  that  requires  two  missionaries  to  be  employed  together 
was  fulfilled  in  my  having  a  wife  as  a  co-laborer.  We  were 
twain  but  yet  one  in  interest.  Probably  no  unmarried  man 
should  enter  and  labor  alone  in  a  foreign  field  if  in  any  other. 
Infinite  wisdom  has  He  who  sent  out  His  appointees  '  'two 
by  two."  And  yet  another  fact  is  remembered.  During 
those  same  long  years  of  deprivation  I  was  more  or  less 
associated  in  various  ways  with  ministers  of  other  churches. 
With  some  of  these  I  had  most  comfortable  Christian  fellow- 
ship, for  the}^  were  most  excellent  men  and  loving  disciples 
of  our  common  Lord  though  they  were  not  of  our  fold. 
The  superintendents  of  the  four  leading  Chinese  missions  in 
San  Francisco  were  men  of  eminent  worth.  Under  the 
leadership  of  Dr.  Otis  Gibson,  who  was  a  born  leader,  for 
several  years  we  held  regular  monthly  meetings  for  confer- 
ence and  mutual  aid  in  the  work.  They  w^ere  greatly  help- 
ful to  me,  and  I  think  I  was  not  silent  when  truth  should  be 
spoken.  Through  that  long  struggle  against  the  anti- 
Chinese  tide  we  stood  together  for  the  right  and  for  the 
poor;  and  this  union  in  work  tended  to  greater  love  of  one 
another. 

Among  all  the  Chinese  converts  in  California  I  know  of 
none  more  worthy  of  mention  on  these  pages  than  Rev.  Jee 
Gam  and  Rev.  Chan  Hon  Fan.  I  became  acquainted  with 
them  many  years  ago  in  their  youth  and  not  long  after  they 
had  abandoned  idol  worship.     I  have  known  them  long  and 


598  LOOKING   BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

well.  They  are  dear  brothens  in  Christ;  and  I  owe  them 
debts  of  gratitude  for  what  they  have  done  for  me  and  for 
the  cause  of  missions. 

For  man}^  years  Jee  Gam  was  assistant  superintendent  in 
the  Central  Congregational  mission  in  San  Francisco,  Rev. 
Dr.  Pond  having  the  supervision  of  all  the  missions  in  the 
state.  While  laboring  as  helper  he  prosecuted  his  studies 
until  he  was  adjudged  worth}'  of  licensure  and  shortly  after- 
wards was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  He  is  now 
acting  as  pastor  of  the  mission  church.  Few  Chinese  in  the 
.state  speak  the  English  language  as  fluently.  His  personal 
worth,  his  activity  and  sufficienc}^  as  a  missionary-,  are  well- 
known.  For  long  years  he  has  been  a  most  reliable  and 
vigilant  friend  of  the  Chinese  people.  As  m^^  personal 
friend  I  owe  him  much  of  gratitude  as  well  as  good-will; 
and  our  Reformed  Presbyterian  mission  is  greatlj^  indebted 
to  him  for  many  good  deeds.  In  the  domestic  circle  as  a 
husband  and  father  he  is  both  happy  and  useful.  He  has 
two  sons  in  the  public  schools  of  Oakland,  noble  boys  that 
promise  great  usefulness  in  the  cause  of  missions. 

When  I  first  knew  Chan  Hon  Fan  he  was  a  j^outhful 
student  of  theology,  taking  special  lessons  under  Rev.  Dr. 
Otis  Gibson,  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Chinese  mis- 
sions in  the  state.  A  few  3^ears  ago  he  was  ordained  as 
missionary'  and  is  now  the  acting  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  connected  with  the  city  mission.  As  a 
well-read  and  genial  gentleman,  and  as  a  teacher  and 
preacher  of  the  Word  and  devoted  to  his  work,  he  is  w^orthy 
of  all  honor  among  the  friends  of  missions.  His  most  excel- 
lent wife,  the  daughter  of  a  missionar^^  in  China,  and  his 
lovely  little  daughters,  make  his  a  model  Christian  home. 
If  it  be  not  in  bad  taste  here  I  would  like  to  add  that  Rev. 
Chan  Hon  Fan  is  a  good  friend  of  the  writer,  and  that 
between  us  has  grown  up  a  warmer  friendship  than  is  ordi- 


Rev.  Chan   Hon  Fan 


MISSIONARIKS   SAIL   FOR   CHINA.  5^9 

narily  found  between  the  old  and  the  young  of  different 
denominations.  The  fact  is  suggestive  of  what  might  be 
and  should  be. 

Besides  these  two  special  friends  other  Chinese  mission- 
aries have  done  and  are  doing  great  good  among  their  own 
people;  and  on  this  Pacific  Coast  there  is  room  as  well  as 
great  need  of  many  more  such  faithful  laborers.  Moreover, 
much  greater  success  might  have  attended  the  labor  expended, 
in  the  Oakland  Reformed  Presbyterian  mission  if  such  a 
native  helper  had  been  in  it  all  the  while.  To  this  day  its 
greatest  need  is  a  well-educated  Chinese-speaking  missionary 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Spirit  and  consecrated  to  the 
work. 


CHAPTER  IvXI. 
A  Chapter  of  Epistolary  Gems. 

During  all  these  3'ears  of  life  thousands  of  letters  have 
been  received  from  various  kinds  of  correspondents,  personal 
friends,  brethren  in  the  church,  reformers  and  others,  some 
of  whom  were  distinguished  men.  Not  a  few  of  those  letters 
were  gems  highly  prized  at  the  time ;  but  as  the  5-ears 
passed  they  accumulated  and  then  were  lost  or  helped  to 
make  occasional  bonfires  kindled  by  those  who  did  not  know 
their  inherent  value.  Now  they  are  gone  forever  unless 
they  are  to  be  recalled  on  memory's  pages  in  the  life  beyond. 
Regrets  now  are  useless,  though  I  could  wish  I  had  been 
wiser  and  had  preserved  more  of  such  letters  from  beloved 
friends  and  brethren  so  that  now  I  could  give  at  least  some 
extracts  on  these  pages.  I  am  glad,  however,  that  a  few 
have  been  saved  from  the  flames ;  and  so  for  the  pleasure  of 
the  reader  I  can  give  such  specimens  as  will  not  be  unworthj' 
of  the  t^'pes.  As  the  early  historj^  of  the  anti-slavery  move- 
ment, especially  under  the  leadership  of  William  Lloj'd 
Garrison,  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  this  book,  some 
paragraphs  from  a  few  of  his  letters  will  be  read  with  lively 
interest.  And  from  them  and  others  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
old  Abohtionists  were  men  of  philanthropic  hearts,  tender 
feelings  and  religious  convictions  rather  than  censorious  and 
misanthropic  agitators  and  disturbers  of  the  peace,  as  multi- 
tudes regarded  them  who  did  not  know  them. 

The  first  Vermont  State  Convention  attended  by  Mr. 
Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison  was  at  West  Randolph  in  August,  1858. 
Garrison.  A  short  time  before  it  I  received  a  letter  from 
(600) 


A   CHAPTKR   OF   EPISTOLARY    GEMS.  6oi 

him  closing  with  the  following   sentences   which  illustrate 
the  character  of  the  old  reformer  : 

"Of  course  the  convention  at  West  Randolph  will  be  advertised  as 
free  in  its  platform  to  every  phase  of  anti-slavery. 

"Trusting  these  meetings  will  help  to  remove  many  unfounded 
prejudices,  and  deepen  whatever  interest  is  felt  in  the  great  struggle 
to  bring  to  a  perpetual  end  'the  sum  of  all  villainies,'  I  remain, 

"  Yours  for  universal  freedom,         Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison." 

Two  years  afterward  in  his  letter  tinder  the  date  of  October 
15,  i860,  abottt  an  approaching  convention  at  Bradford,  the 
following  characteristic  passage  occurs  : 

"It  seems  but  as  yesterday  that  I  was  with  you  and  Mr.  May  at  a 
similar  convention  in  Bradford.  Our  reception,  you  will  recollect,  was 
far  from  being  enthusiastic.  A  meager  attendance  during  tlie  day, 
and  less  in  the  evening,  in  consequence  of  a  tremendous  rainstorm. 
But  what  should  we  be  good  for,  if  we  had  only  sunshine  in  our  path- 
way, and  the  applause  of  the  multitude  ringing  in  our  ears?  'No 
cross,  no  crown,'  said  good  William  Penn.  'Wo  unto  you  when  all 
men  shall  speak  well  of  you,'  said  a  far  greater  th:ui  Penn.  Let  us 
endeavor  to  be  true  witnesses  for  God,  and  find  our  consolation  and 
reward  in  well-doing.     Nor  shall  we  testify  in  vain." 

Since  that  letter  was  written  nearly  fourteen  years  had 
passed,  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  was  already  on  the  pages 
of  history,  and  chattel  slavery  in  the  United  States  was  no 
more,  when  under  the  date  of  December  4,  1874,  I  received 
a  letter  which  is  given  here  almost  entire.  After  introduction 
Mr.  Garrison  writes  thus  : 

"I  thank  you  for  your  expression  of  continued  personal  esteem 
and  high  appreciation  of  my  labors  in  the  anti-slavery  cause,  and 
rejoice  with  you  that  we  have  been  permitted  to  see  the  liberation  of 
all  who  were  held  in  chattel  sf  rvitu  ie  on  our  soil.  What  a  marvelous 
transition  from  the  lowest  menial  condition  to  complete  citizenship — 
from  the  auction-block  as  marketable  commodities  to  the  ballot-box 
as  American  freemen ! 


6o2  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

"  Did  we  dare, 
In  our  agony  of  iirayer, 

Ask  for  more  than  He  has  done  ? 
When  was  ever  His  ris^ht  hand, 
Over  any  time  or  land. 

Stretched  as  now  beneath  the  sun  ? 

"True,  there  is  still  left  a  good  deal  of  old  slaveholding  virus  in  the 
hearts  of  the  southern  whites,  but  the  horrible  slave  system  which 
gave  birth  to  it  is  extinct,  and  the  sublime  act  of  emancipation  is 
attended  with  many  'crowning  mercies,'  to  be  multiplied  indetinitely 
to  future  generations.  It  came  as  divine  justice  had  duly  appointed, 
and,  though  the  chastisement  was  grievous,  we  deserved  it  all. 

"Be  assured  that  I  had  not  forgotten  you,  and  therefore  I  needed 
no  reminder  of  our  acquaintance  years  ago,  when  there  were  so  few 
to  lift  up  their  voices  against  '  the  abomination  of  desolation,'  and  so 
many  to  defend  it  as  compatible  with  Republicanism  and  Christianity. 
In  your  own  person  and  position,  you  acquitted  yourself  so  coura- 
geously, faithfully  and  uncompromisingly,  that  you  will  always  deserve 
to  be  honorably  remembered  in  connection  with  the  anti-slavery 
struggle.  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  proffer  you  afresh  my  warmest 
regards  and  best  wishes. 

"Though  retired  from  public  observation,  my  spirit  is  deeply  inter- 
ested in  every  phase  of  progress  and  reform,  increasing  years  not 
affecting  me  in  that  particular.  On  the  12th  of  this  month,  if  per- 
mitted to  witness  it,  I  shall  complete  my  threescore  years  and  ten. 
The  fact  seems  to  me  almost  mythical,  but  there  is  no  escape  from 
it,  especially  in  the  presence  of  eleven  grandchildren.  It  shows, 
moreover,  that  I  have  reached  an  age  when  I  must  expect  at  any 
time  to  be  summoned  hence.  Death  is  the  co-equal  of  birth — as 
natural,  as  beneficial,  as  indispensable,  and  to  be  accepted  as  thank- 
fully and  joyfully." 

Though  I  had  heard.  Wendell  Phillips  several  times  on 
Wendell  the  platform  of  the  anniversaries  of  the  American 
Phillips  Anti-slavery  Society,  until  later  5-ears  I  did  not 
have  the  pleasure  of  a  personal  acquaintance  with  him. 
Subsequently,  however,  it  was  my  privilege  to  meet  him 
frequently  and  to  have  occasional  correspondence  with  him. 
This  was  mostly  in  reference  to  the  questions  and  events 
involved   in   the   anti-slavery   struggle.     Mr.    Phillips   was 


A   CHAPTER   OF   EPISTOLARY   GEMS-  603 

not  what  we  call  a  letter- writer;  nor  was  he  a  theologian. 
He  was  a  fine  classical  scholar,  and  he  was  trained  in  the 
law  schools  though  never  a  practical  barrister.  But  he  was 
not  a  novice  in  theology.  His  religious  education  was 
in  an  Orthodox  Congregational  famih'  and  church.  His 
brother  was  a  pastor  of  a  Congregational  Church;  and  Mr. 
Phillips  himself  worshiped  in  a  Boston  Congregational 
Church.  If  he  was  a  theologian  at  all  he  was  a  Calvinist; 
and  he  was  a  great  admirer  and  eulogist  of  John  Calvin  as 
the  defender  of  civil  and  reUgious  liberty  and  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Republic  of  Geneva.  Illustrative  of  the 
secret  of  his  power  as  a  public  speaker  and  reformer  we 
introduce  here  the  testimony  of  Rev.  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson 
who  writes  thus: 

"  Wendell  Phillips  was  recognized  as  perhaps,  in  his  day,  the  fore- 
most of  American  orators.  There  was  especially  noticeable  about 
him  a  marked  ethical  vwmentum.  No  other  word  so  well  expresses 
it.  Momentum  is  the  product  of  the  mass  of  matter  by  the  velocity 
of  movement.  When  he  spoke  on  great  moral  questions,  he  carried 
his  auditor  with  him  by  an  oratorical  force,  into  which  entered  two 
grand  elements:  iirst,  there  was  a  noble,  strong,  weighty  manhood 
back  of  the  speech;  and  second,  there  was  a  rapid,  onward  move- 
ment in  forcible  argument  and  intense  earnestness  of  emotion  and 
lofty  purpose,  all  facilitated  by  simplicity  of  diction  and  aptness  ot 
illustration. 

"This  American  Demosthenes  had  gone  through  the  temptations, 
which  a  rich  young  man  confronts,  to  early  dissipation,  and  developed 
a  great  moral  character,  which  must  cause  him  ever  to  remain  one  ot 
the  noblest  figures  in  the  history  of  New  England. 

"An  interesting  fact  is  related  of  his  early  boyhood  : 

"  One  day  after  hearing  Lyman  Beecher  preach,  he  repaired  to  his 
room,  threw  himself  on  the  floor,  and  cried,  'O  God,  I  belong  to  thee! 
Take  what  is  thine  own.  I  ask  this,  that  whenever  a  thing  be  wrong 
it  may  have  no  power  of  temptation  over  me,  and  whenever  a  thing 
be  right  it  may  take  no  courage  to  do  it.' 

"  'And,'  observed  Mr.  Phillips  in  later  years,  'I  have  never  found 
anything  that  impressed  me  as  being  wrong,  exerting  any  temptation 
over  me,  nor  has  it  required  any  courage  on  my  part  to  do  whatever 
I  believed  to  be  right.' 


6o4  LOOKING   BACK    FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

"What  a  key  lo  a  human  Hfe !  In  that  supreme  hour  his  higher 
moral  nature,  with  God"s  help,  subjugated  his  lower  self;  and  for  him, 
henceforth,  there  was  no  compromise  with  animal  passion,  carnal 
ambition,  selfishness,  cupidity,  or  any  other  debasing  inclination  ; 
they  were  '  suppliants  at  the  feet  of  his  soul.'  " 

Northerners  who  admired  the  classical  eloquence  of 
Wendell  Phillips  called  him  "  The  Silver  Tongned."  The 
friends  of  slavery  charged  him  with  severity.  Slaveholders 
winced  under  his  deserved  lashings.  A  specimen  is  at  hand. 
While  John  Brown  was  lying  in  the  Charlestown,  Va.,  jail, 
in  a  speech  at  Brooklyn  Mr.  Phillips  said  : 

"  v^irginia  is  only  another  Algiers.  The  barbarous  horde  who  gag 
each  other,  imprison  women  for  teaching  children  to  read,  prohibit 
the  Bible,  sell  rrien  on  the  auction-block,  abolish  marriage,  condemn 
tlieir  women  to  prostitution,  and  devote  themselves  to  the  breeding 
of  human  beings  for  sale,  is  only  a  larger  and  blacker  Algiers.  The 
only  prayer  of  a  true  man  for  such  is,  '  Gracious  heaven,  unless  they 
repent,  send  soon  their  Exmouth  and  Decatur.'  " 

The  two  or  three  letters  from  which  I  give  extracts  below 
are  brief  specimens  of  man}'  received  from  Mr.  Phillips  dtir- 
ing  the  years  of  our  acqtiaiutance.  The  first  given  was  in 
reply  to  one  of  mine  when  we  invited  him  to  speak  at  one  of 
our  Vermont  State  Conventions,  or  to  write  a  letter  to  be 
read  at  the  convention  provided  he  could  not  be  present  to 
speak.      He  said: 

"I  never  write  letters — to  you  why  should  I?  who  can  say  the 
needed  word  as  well  as  I  can  write  it.  But  say  to  the  friends  who 
come  together  at  your  call  that  I  wish  I  could  be  with  them— that 
every  day  convinces  me  more  and  more  how  indispensable  is  our 
moral  movement  to  uphold  all  efficient  action  for  the  slave.  If  the 
Republican  party  fail  you  must  reinvigorate  them — if  they  succeed 
you  must  guard  them  from  the  temptations  of  success.  I  dread  the 
last  even  more  than  the  first." 

At  the  time  of  emancipation  and  subseqtiently  Mr. 
Phillips  publicly  and  always  plead  for  the  rights  of  the 
freedmen  and  insisted  that  as  by  their  rebellion  as  well  as 


A    CHAPTER    OF    EPISTOLARY    GEMS.  605 

by  their  previous  wrongs  done  to  their  slaves  the  rebel 
slave- owners  had  forfeited  all  right  to  their  plantations  as 
well  as  to  their  slave  property,  the  P'ederal  Government  in 
the  acts  of  reconstruction  should  divide  up  the  plantations 
and  give  to  every  family  that  had  tilled  the  soil  without 
remuneration  a  portion  of  land  so  that  every  one  could  have 
a  little  farm  of  his  own.  In  this  advocacy  Wendell  Phillips 
stood  almost  alone;  and  to  this  day  millions  of  ex-slaves  are 
landless  and  poor  because  no  provision  was  made  for  them 
when  the  government  had  both  the  right  and  the  power  to 
secure  justice  to  the  poor  who  by  their  unrequited  toil  had 
enriched  others. 

In  like  manner  Mr.  Phillips  insisted  that  the  leaders  of 
the  rebellion,  most  of  whom  were  slaveholders,  should  not 
be  pardoned  but  punished  according  to  national  law.  I  had 
sent  to  him  the  printed  sentiments  of  a  distinguished  citizen 
who  advocated  the  pardon  of  all,  even  Jefferson  Davis.  Here 
is  a  part  of  what  Mr.  Phillips  wrote  in  reply  to  me,  under 
the  date  of  May  i ,  '71: 

"Thanks  for  the  slip  and  for  the  sight  of  your  handwriting.  The 
writer's  spirit  is  good  enough.  His  philosophy  is  in  error.  The 
south  mistakes  clemency  for  cowardice.  Only  administer  with  abso- 
lute justice  four  or  five  times  the  ivholc  law  and  then  having  shown 
that  we  can  subdue  we  may  pardon  all  we  please.  How  much  we  see 
the  muddle  mistaken  religious  views  lead  men  into.  The  fault  I  find 
with  the  theology  of  to-day  is  it  lacks  and  fears  logic." 

Some  time  afterwards  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Phillips  asking  the 
favor  of  his  photograph  for  mj^  drtighter's  album.  He  did 
far  more  than  I  asked;  he  sent  me  fine  pictures  of  three 
other  eminent  Abolitionists,  including  Charles  Sumner's  and 
his  autograph.     Then  he  added  these  words  to  his  letter: 

"I  add  mine;  the  small  one  for  your  dear  child's  book,  the  others 
thinking  you  or  some  friend  may  like  one.  Give  my  kindest  regards 
to  your  wife,  and  tell  the  little  girl  I'll  keep  a  kiss  for  her  the  next 
time  we  meet  and  expect  a  very  sweet  one  in  return." 


6o6  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET    LAND. 

The  reader  will  excuse  a  father  for  adding  here  that  "the 
next  time"  came  shortly  afterwards  when  we  all  (all  four  of 
our  family)  went  to  the  city  of  Pittsburg  to  hear  Mr. 
Phillips  lecture.  As  soon  as  the  lecture  was  over  he  came 
down  from  the  platform  to  greet  us  and  then  kissed  both  the 
little  girls  with  apparent  affection. 

The  following  letter  from  Rev.  Samuel  May,  of  Boston, 
Rev.  Samuel  was  written  shortly  before  the  anniversary  of 
May,  Jr.  the    American   Anti-slavery  Society  in   New 

York  in  1859  and  in  reply  to  mine  in  which  I  had  ex- 
pressed the  hope  that  on  the  platform  none  of  the  speakers 
would  transgress  in  their  mode  of  speech.  I  feared,  because 
several  times,  though  in  less  public  places,  I  had  heard 
utterances  that  I  regarded  as  both  unwise  and  offensive. 
Mr.  May's  reply  will  show  the  character  of  the  times  and 
through  what  stormy  and  fiery  trials  the  Abolitionists  of 
that  period  had  to  pass.     He  wTote  thus: 

"  You  express  the  hope  that  the  speakers  will  not  make  their 
attacks,  open  or  covert,  upon  the  'orthodox  views'  of  any  who,  in  a 
sincere  anti-slavery  spirit,  go  up  to  the  meeting.  I  hope  so  too;  and 
shall  certainly  think  and  say,  of  any  one  who  should  be  led  to  stray  so 
far  from  our  true  platform,  and  from  what  I  believe  to  be  its  custom 
and  habit,  that  he  is  censurable,  and  is  to  be  openly  censured.  I  have 
been  a  constant  attendant  at  and  an  observer  of  fair  intelligence  upon, 
our  anti-slavery  meetings  in  New  York,  Boston,  and  elsewhere  for 
twenty-one  years  past, — and  that  too  (I  hope  I  may  say  it  in  no  boast- 
ful or  conceited  spirit)  from  the  point  of  sincere  reverence  and  love 
of  Christianity — (to  you  I  need  not  say  I  mean  the  Christianity  of 
Christ's  life,  character,  principles,  precepts,  and  doctrines  as  I  under- 
stand them),  and  I  must  and  will  everywhere  testify  that  nozvhere  and 
at  no  time,  tliat  I  can  recollect  or  that  I  believe,  have  the  religious 
viezvs  as  such  of  anybody,  on  our  platform  or  off  it,  nor  of  the  Ameri- 
can sects  and  churches  generally,  north  or  south,  been  attacked  or 
assailed!  I  wish  to  make  my  assertion  just  as  broad  and  strong  as  it 
well  can  be  made,  and  to  stand  to  the  truth  of  my  assertion; — for  I  do 
think  the  society  has  nobly,  and  very  jealously,  vindicated,  guarded, 
and  preserved  tfie  Catholicity  of  its  platform.     When  sects,  churches, 


A   CHAPTER    OP   EPISTOLARY   GEMS.  607 

pulpits,  priests,  )ninisters,  religious  cksociafioiis,  have  been  arraigned, 
examined,  censured,  rebuked,  denounced, — as  they  often  have  been, 
and  undoubtedly  will  again  and  again  be,  (for  their  repentance  is  yet  a 
very  distant  work,  unless  all  signs  fail),  it  has  been  for  their  support 
and  countenance  of  slavery,  by  direct  justification,  apology,  or 
equally  criminal  silence.  No  man's  creed,  or  religious  opinions,  as 
such,  have  ever  been  assailed  on  our  platform,  in  my  hearing,  that  I 
can  remember,  and  according  to  what  seemed  to  me  the  obvious 
meaning  of  the  speech.  Still  I  do  not  deny  that,  from  H.  C.  Wright — 
and  it  may  be  once  in  a  great  while  from  some  others — I  have  heard 
sayings  which  were  offensive  and  disagreeable  to  me,  beyond 
measure, — which  I  judged  foolish,  useless,  mischievous, — what  Miller 
McKim  calls  'tricks  of  speech,  as  shallow  as  offensive;' — these  have 
usually  been  objected  to  on  the  spot,  and  very  often  by  way  of  private 
remonstrance;  but  it  is  true  of  them,  that  they  were  not  leveled  at 
'orthodoxy'  more  than  at  'heterodoxy,'  at  views  like  yours  more  than 
at  views  like  mine;  and  I  must  add,  in  justice,  that  they  were  not 
wholly  without  excuse.  Shoals  of  professed  Christians — real  disciples 
of  Beelzebub — have  openly  averred  that  God  justified,  and  justifies, 
a  system  which  includes  whoredom  and  all  conceivable  impurity, 
cruelty,  violence,  inhumanity,  robbery.  What  an  awful  temptation 
and  spur  to  an  indignant  soul,  to  say,  '  If  God  says  this  is  right.'  But 
/would  resist  that  temptation,  as  a  weakness.  I  would  be  more  true 
to  my  moral  nature,  to  my  own  strength  of  faith,  and  to  my  assured 
belief  in  God,  than  to  suffer  such  an  'if  to  cross  my  lips.  I  would 
to  the  extent  of  my  power,  expose  the  blasphemy  and  atheism  of  the 
man  who  brought  the  Holy  and  Righteous  One  to  the  defense  and 
support  of  every  damnable  and  accursed  lust  and  passion  that  can 
bestialize  and  ruin  the  body  and  soul  of  man,  and  I. would  riddle  him 
thro'  and  thro'  by  the  sword  and  the  arrows  of  truth,  if  I  could.  That 
would  be  my  way — it  ought  to  be  Wright's,  and  Foss's  (orthodox 
men  by  birth  and  training)  in  my  view.  Now  thisris  the  full  extent, 
according  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief,  of  the  real  errors 
committed  on  our  platform.  I  have  as  good  ground  to  complain  of 
them  as  you.  The  society  is  as  pure  as  innocence  itself  of  all  idea  or 
purpose  of  assailing  anybody's  'orthodoxy,'  or  'heresy,'  as  such.  In 
this  belief,  I  am  ever  yours,  S.  May,  Jr." 

In  a  postscript  to  the  foregoing  letter  Mr.  May  added  the 
following  which,  to  be  faithful  to  him,  I  copy  here;  viz. 


6o8  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THEJ    SUNSET    LAND. 

"Let  me  say  I  heard  you  yourself  say  one  of  those  strong  and 
sweeping  things,  which,  had  it  been  said  on  our  platform,  in  public 
meetingrwith  the  usual  warmth  and  stress  of  Wright,  or  Foss,  would 
have  called  forth  the  pious  ejaculations  of  such  religious  papers  as 
the  Observer,  New  York  Herald,  and  Journal  of  Commerce.  As 
Girrison,  you,  and  I  were  descending  from  that  'mount  of  vision' 
just  over  against  your  house,  you  said,  very  emphatically,  'If  I  believed 
that  Jesus  Christ  and  his  religion  justified  such  an  abomination  as 
American  slavery,  I  would  discard  them  forever,  and  cast  them  behind 
me.'     We  said,   'Amen!     But  we  hiozv  they  do  not.''" 

I  am  loath  to  believe  or  confess  that  I  ever  used  the 
language  that  Mr.  May  attributes  to  me;  but  his  testimony 
is  against  me.  If  I  did,  I  stand  condemned  by  what  he 
says  of  the  "if"  used  by  Henry  C.  Wright;  though  the 
word  was  used  in  different  connections.  I  might  possibly 
be  tempted  to  believe  as  declared  above,  though  it  would  be 
a  most  heinous  if  not  unpardonable  sin;  but  ^Vlr.  Wright's 
supposition  would  be  of  an  impossibility  predicated  of  the 
divine  Being. 

What  Mr.  May  meant  by  the  "mount  of  vision"  lam 
not  sure;  though  perhaps  he  referred  to  the  old  Covenanter 
Church  in  Topsham  on  the  high  ground,  in  front  of  "the 
parsonage,  in  which  Mr.  Garrison  and  he  gave  anti-slavery 
lectures  on  a  week  day  a  few  years  before  the  war;  I  rather 
guess,  however,  that  he  had  reference  to  the  old-fashioned 
high  pulpit  in  -the  old  church  before  that  venerable  house  of 
worship  was  remodeled  and  the  high  pulpit  changed  to  an 
ordinary  platform  as  it  now  is.  Well  might  he  call  it  a 
"mount  of  vision,"  for  the  speaker  literally  looked  down 
upon  the  hearers.  Or,  yet  again;  most  likely  Mr.  May  was 
thinking  of  the  mount  on  which  Peter  said:  "It  is  good  for 
us  to  be  here; ' '  for  it  was  a  rare  privilege  for  Mr.  Garrison 
and  Mr.  May  to  address  an  audience  of  old  Covenanters 
whose  motto,  like  that  of  the  Garrisonian  Abolitionists,  ever 
had  been,  "No  union  with  .slaveholders  in  either  church 
or  state." 


A   CHAPTER   OF   EPISTOLARY   GEMS.  609 

In  the  autumn  of  1859  I  had  correspondence  with  Mr. 
May  in  reference  to  our  approaching  Vermont  State  Anti- 
slavery  Convention  which  we  hoped  he  and  Mr.  Garrison 
could  attend.  On  the  2d  of  December  following,  old  John 
Brown  was  hung  by  the  Virginians  whose  slaves  he  had 
desired  to  help  to  liberate.  Eight  days  afterguards  I  received 
a  letter  from  Mr.  May  containing  the  following  paragraph: 

"How  much  you  have  suftered  and  sympathized  in  the  case  of  the 
brave  and  wonderful  old  man,  John  Brown,  I  can  well  believe  and 
partly  imagine!  What  an  appeal  has  he  made  to  all  hearts!  (Some 
have  no  hearts  of  flesh, — they  are  stone,  or  wood, — and  such  spit  at 
him  their  venom.)  What  an  impulse  has  he  given  to  the  spirit  of 
freedom!  What  a  noble  example  of  perfect  willingness  and  joy  to 
^/;V  for  the  truth. — Will  not  our  whole  land  be  sobered  and  mightily 
instructed  by  that  sad  event?  Will  it  not  be  inspired  by  that  glorious 
self-consecration? — Though  his  weapons  were  not  the  same,  was  not 
his  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  of  trust  in  God,  of  sympathy  with  the 
oppressed,  the  very  spirit  of  Christ?  God  forever  bless  him,  and 
cause  him  'to  walk  among  us  still,  with  his  rebuke  and  love.'  Surely, 
as  tens  of  thousands  have  said,  '■He  still  lives,'  and  his  name  will  be  a 
rallying  cry,  and  watchword,  until  slavery's  last  death-knell  is  rung 
out.— Surely,  and  without  irreverence,  may  we  apply  to  him  the 
words,  '  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me,'  and  yet  not  to 
himself,  but  to  the  principles  of  eternal  rectitude  and  justice,  and  to 
the  heart-subduing  sentiment  of  willingness  to  die  for  God's  poor  and 
suffering  children,  which  he  so  simply  yet  admirably  illustrated  in  his 
life  and  death." 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  a  letter  from  Mr.  May 
contained  this  characteristic  paragraph: 

"  Was  there  ever  such  a  set  of  blinded,  besotted  fools  as  the  people 
of  the  slaveholding  states  ?  Are  they  not  palpably  throwing  them- 
selves on  the  thick  bosses  of  Jehovah's  buckler?  rushing  headlong 
on  their  own  destruction  ?  It  will  prove,  I  believe,  as  absolute  and 
thorough  an  overthrow  as  that  of  Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians  at  the 
Red  Sea.  Upon  what  wonderful  times  we  have  fallen!  So  long  used 
to  peace,  ourselves,  we  could  not  believe  in  a  state  of  civil  war!  To 
the  slaveholder  it  was  an  easier  matter,  and  a  small  change.  Violence, 
bloodshed,  torture,   absolute  authority  over  underlings,   have  been 

39 


6lO  I^OOKING    BA-CK    FROM    THE    SUNSET   LAND, 

familiar  things  to  him  always.  War  and  fighting  are  new  business  to 
our  northern  men.  But  Yankees  learn  fast,  and  I  trust  will  give  a 
good  account  of  themselves — Much  as  I  love  peace,  I  prefer  a  war 
for  the  overthrow  of  slavery  to  a  hollow  and  false  peace,  based  on 
acquiescence  in  slavery,  and  complicity  with  the  slaveholder.  I  pray 
that  this  war  may  tend  (as  I  believe  it  does)  straight  to  the  deliverance 
of  the  captive  and  the  opening  of  their  prison  doors,  and  that  the 
north  will  steadfastly  refuse  all  propositions  for  peace,  until  accompa- 
nied with  the  freedom  of  every  American  slave.  God  grant  it,  and 
give  us  faith  and  strength  to  go  through  the  struggle  well.  It  is  an 
anxious  hour.     '  God  defend  the  right,'  and  give  it  the  victory. 

"  Ever  truly  yours,  Saml.  May,  Jr." 

Among  the  old  ' '  anti-slavery  apostles' '  none  were  more 
Charles  C-  faithfttl,  few  were  more  eloquent,  and  none 
Burleigh.  were  better  known  than  Friend  C.  C.  Bur- 
leigh. My  correspondence  with  him  was  occa.sioned  by  his 
lectures  in  Vermont,  most  of  which  it  devolved  upon  me  to 
arrange  for  him.  Several  of  his  letters  have  been  preserved 
more  because  of  his  personal  worth  and  my  appreciation  of 
the  excellence  of  his  character  than  because  of  their  inherent 
value.  I  may  quote  onh'  a  few  short  portions  of  two  of 
them.  They  are  indicative  of  his  character.  During  his 
first  tour  in  the  state  he  was  our  guest  while  he  remained 
in  Topsham.  On  his  departure  he  undesignedly  left  behind 
him  a  beautiful  photographic  picture  of  his  wife  and  children. 
I  wrote  to  inform  him  and  asked  him  how  I  could  get  the 
picture  to  him.     Among  other  things  in  his  reply  he  says: 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  hear  your  favorable  judgment  as  to  the 
apparent  result  of  my  labors  in  Vermont,  and  I  do  earnestly  wish 
that  they  may  have  been  productive  of  lasting  good  to  the  cause  of 
truth  and  freedom.  If  so  they  have  been  or  shall  be,  I  feel  that  no 
small  share  of  their  good  effect  is  to  be  ascribed  to  your  warm  and 
hearty  co-operation  in  the  various  ways  in  which  it  was  given. 

I  have  not  a  word  to  say  against  your  'falling  in  love  with 
that  little  group  in  the  picture;'  for  I  can  not  deny  tliat  1  liad  a  similar 
experience  some  time  ago,  and  how  can  I  blame  another  for  following 
my  example  ?    But  I  would  be  glad  to  have  you  come  here  some  day 


A   CHAPTER   OF   KPISTOLARY   GEMS.  6l  I 

and  see  the  originals,  and  change  3'our  'ahnost'  into  quite  an  accjuaint- 
ance  with  them.  They  all  would  unite  with  me  in  giving  you  a  cordial 
welcome  by  way  of  testifying  their  grateful  sense  of  the  kindness 
experienced  at  your  hands  and  those  of  your  good  wife  by  one  whom 
they  dearly  love.  If  you  are  'almost  acquainted'  with  them,  so  are 
they  with  you,  for  they  know  something  of  the  extent  to  which  you 
contributed  to  my  comfort  and  aided  in  my  work." 

Abotit  nine  months  later  I  received  a  letter  with  reference 
to  his  coming  to  the  approaching  state  convention,  in  which 
occurs  the  following  paragraph  of  condolence: 

"  Yes,  I  have  heard  of  your  sore  bereavement,  and  have  felt  a  warm 
sympathy  for  you  in  your  great  sorrow.  I  am  well  aware  that  only 
an  experience  of  the  same  kind  can  enable  one  fiilly  to  appreciate  the 
greatness  of  your  loss,  but  I  think  I  can  in  some  measure  understand 
it  from  what  I  do  know  by  experience  of  the  value  of  such  a  blessing 
as  has  been  withdrawn  from  you.  But  I  rejoice  to  know  also  that  you 
are  of  those  who  can  see  the  Father's  hand,  even  though  it  bears  the 
rod;  and  can  still  trust  the  Father's  love,  even  while  bleeding  under 
the  stroke  it  gives.  I  rejoice,  too,  to  know  that  you  can  see  beyond 
this  temporary  bereavement  to  that  blessed  reunion  whose  joy  shall 
immeasurably  overpay  the  present  sorrow." 

I  can  not  suppress  the  inclination  to  ask  the  reader  to  share 
Minor  with  me  my  pleastires  of  memory  in  giving  a  few 
Letters,  excerpts  from  letters  received  from  various  friends 
and  on  various  subjects  and  at  variotis  dates.  In  1855  Rev. 
Wm.  Sloane,  my  first  pastor,  and  before  that  the  pastor  in 
Topsham,  Vt.,  where  his  son,  J.  R.  W.  Sloane,  was  born, 
wrote  me: 

"I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  the  situation  of  the  church  is  no  better 
with  you  than  with  myself  Lukewarmness  and  apostasy  seem  to  be 
the  order  of  the  day.  It  is  much  easier  to  make  apostates,  than  to 
make  converts.  The  preaching  of  a  disagreeable  truth  will  do  the 
first;  but  the  Daughter  of  Zion  must  be  in  pain,  and  labor  to  bring 
forth,  to  effect  the  last. 

"That  the  Lord  may  bless  you,  and  grant  you  many  seals  to  your 
ministry,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  your  brother  in  the  Gospel, 

"Wm.  Sloane.' 


6l2  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

At  a  later  date  he  wrote: 

"  Dear  brother,  you  are  located  in  a  barren  soil;  it  is  exceeding! j* 
desirable  to  be  the  instrument  of  gathering  in  the  travail  of  the 
Redeemer's  soul;  but  it  is  cause  of  thankfulness,  that  a  minister's 
fidelity  is  not  estimated  by  his  success.  Isaiah  49  :  4,  John  3  :  32,  and 
12:37. 

"That  you  may  rest,  and  stand  in  your  lot  at  the  end  of  the  days, 
is  the  prayer  of  your  brother  in  the  Lord,  Wm.  Sloane." 

From  ail  eminent  seceding  Methodist,  Prof.  Hiram  Mat- 
tison,  of  New  York,  j^ears  before  emancipation: 

"  May  God  forgive  our  northern  Methodist  preachers  for  their  com- 
plicity with  slavery,  and  their  efforts  to  deceive  and  mislead  the  more 
earnest  and  more  honest  laity. 

"Yours,  for  God  and  humanity  forever." 

From  Congressman  Justin  S.  Morrill  of  Vermont,  after 
wards  U.  S.  senator: 

"  I  do  believe  slavery  to  be  an  evil  and  that  age  does  not  improve 
it.  How  any  party  or  sect  can  in  this  era  of  the  world  tolerate  i's 
extension  passes  my  compreheinsion." 

If  a  Covenanter  or  a  Garrisonian  had  been  writing  the 
letter  he  would  not  have  said  merely  "extension"  but 
'^existence''  or  '^ perpehdty.''' 

From  Tarquin  Cohen,  my  good  Episcopal  "deacon"  in 
the  Beaufort  mission  to  the  contrabands,  under  the  date  of 
May   18,  i860: 

"  Our  school  is  getting  along  bravely  but  we  miss  you  very  much  as 
some  of  the  boys  that  more  particularly  depended  on  your  help  have 
been  so  much  disappointed  that  they  have  fallen  back  a  great  deal  in 
their  studies.  John  Middleton,  Abel  Middleton,  Jacob  Simmons, 
and  Sharper  Washington  and  the  rest  of  the  boys  all  join  in  sending 
their  love  to  you.  What  j'ou  told  us  about  our  freedom  is  coming  to 
pass  more  and  more,  and  1  live  in-  hopes  that  we  shall  be  fully  assured 
of  it  yet.  I  do  not  rest  myself  entirely  on  that,  as  life  is  very  short, 
and  I  am  trying  to  live  so  that  I  can  get  an  everlasting  freedom  with 
the  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ," 


A  CHAPTER   OF   EPISTOLARY   GEMS.  613 

During  our  residence  in  Blairsville,  Pa.,  we  were  happy 
in  the  intimate  fraternal  fellowship  of  Dr. 
Rev.  Dr.  Hill.  QgQ^gg  Hill,  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  No  man  in  the  place  was  more  beloved.  His 
influence  in  his  own  church  was  unbounded.  He  was  the 
pastor  of  my  cousins,  Elder  Dr.  Marshall  and  wife,  and  this 
occasioned  my  acquaintance  with  him  soon  afjer  taking 
charge  of  the  academy  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  trustees. 
The  longer  we  remained  the  more  we  prized  him  and  were 
benefited  by  his  company.  The  letter  from  which  an  extract 
is  given  below  was  written  shortly  after  we  had  gone  to 
EUiota,  Minn. 

"I  sympathize  with  you  in  your  feelings  in  reference  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  It  is  the  greatest,  the  noblest,  the  most  blessed  work 
to  wliich  God  has  ever  called  man;  and  I  do  not  wonder  that  you 
followed  the  leadings  of  Providence  which  called  you  back  to  it.  I 
sincerely  rejoice  with  you  in  the  possession  of  a  quiet  and  pleasant 
home  where  you  can  devote  yourself  wholly  to  this  delightful  but 
responsible  work." 

In  reply  to  what  I  had  written  about  an  article  of  his  in 
a  Presbyterian  journal  he  said: 

"I  more  and  more  feel  that  the  question  of  the  age  is:  Christ?  or 
antichrist?  It  seems  to  me  that  the  'many  andchrists'  are  leaguing 
their  forces,  and  marshaling  their  powers  for  one  grand  mighty 
onslaught  upon  the  '  King  in  Zion. '  Hell  from  beneath  seems  to  be 
moved,  and  all  the  pride  and  enmity  of  men  seem  to  be  aroused  to 
crush  the  Lord's  Anointed.  But  why  should  his  people  fear?  'He 
that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh.'  " 

I  close  this  chapter  by  giving  very  brief  extracts  from  two 
letters  written  by  two  persons  of  more  than  national  reputa- 
tion, in  reply  to  mine  in  reference  to  the  Chinese  question  so 
much  agitated  during  the  earlier  years  of  our  labors  among 
the  Chinese.     The  first  reads  thus: 

"My  religion  taught  me  from  childhood  and  permeating  my  soul, 


6 14  LOOKING   BACK   FROM   THE   SUNSET   LAND. 

reminds  me  that  I  have  no  right  to  limit  the  word  'neighbor'  to  any 

race,  condition  or  color. 

"  Sincerely  yours,  O.  O.  Howard, 

''Maj.   Gen.   U.  S.  A. 
''''Headquarters  Division  of  the  Pacific.'''' 

The  other  is  from  a  letter  dated  Atnesbury,  Mass.,  Jan- 
uary, 1890: 

"  Of  course  I  regard  the  treatment  as  inhuman  and  unchristian,  as 
is  also  our  dealing  with  the  colored  people.  God  bless  thee  in  thy 
good  work! 

"Thy  old  friend,  John  G.  Whittier." 

As  a  kind  of  appendix  to  this  chapter  of  letters,  on  the 
opposite  page  we  give  a  few  specimens  of 
autographs,  all  except  two  clipped  from  letters 
received  from  correspondents  during  my  years  of  public  life. 
Other  pages  might  have  been  filled  with  similar  facsimiles 
of  the  autographs  of  good  and  great  men,  but  these  must 
siiffice. 

The  two  exceptions  are  those  of  John  Brown  and  Charles 
Sumner.  For  the  former  I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  Brown 
after  she  and  her  family  came  to  California;  for  the  latter  I 
am  indebted  to  Wendell  Phillips  who  kindly  sent  it  to  me 
while  Mr.  Stimner  was  yet  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

To  some  who  are  not  skilled  in  hieroglyphics  there  may 
be  three  or  four  names  that  are  illegible,  \dz.  Gerrit  Smith, 
Charles  Sumner,  S.  P.  Chase,  and  perhaps  Wendell  Phillips. 

Readers  familiar  with  the  history  of  our  own  country 
need  not  be  told  who  and  what  the  people  were  whose 
autographs  are  given.  If  there  are  exceptions  they  are  the 
first  two  on  the  list.  William  Sloane  was  my  first  pastor 
and  the  father  of  the  late  Prof.  J.  R.  W.  Sloane,  D.  D.  The 
other  is  that  of  Gamaliel  Bailey.  When  I  first  knew  him 
he  was  editor  of  The  Philanthropist  published  in  Cincinnati. 
This  was  one  of  the  ablest   anti-slavery  papers   published 


^^^^     .^.^^^^^Z^^'l^ 


dyT-  j^i^v^x^ 


e^ 


OrxyrT^t.^,^ 


CHAPTER   IvXII. 

Nearing  the  Sunset. 

When  the  sky  is  cloudless  and  the  air  pure,  from  our 
cottage  home  or  adjacent  heights  we  can  look  out  at  even- 
tide upon  the  Pacific  and  behold  the  sun  as  if  sinking  into 
the  ocean.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight.  But  when  the  king  of 
day  is  gone  and  the  shades  of  night  envelop  us,  how  sad 
we  would  be  if  we  did  not  consider  that  in  a  few  hours  that 
same  glorious  orb  will  arise  on  the  other  side  of  the  conti- 
nent making  the  whole  land  to  rejoice  in  his  light!  What 
will  that  country  be  where  there  shall  be  no  night  ?  What 
that  celestial  city  whose  light  is  the  Lord  God  and  the 
lyamb? 

I  write  from  the  "Land  of  the  Sunset."  How  rapidly 
the  shadows  lengthen!  In  this  retrospect  I  have  had  much 
of  pleasure  and  much  of  sorrowful  regret.  And  so  of  this 
book.  If  I  had  time  to  write  it  again  I  would  throw  into 
the  waste-basket  much  that  is  already  in  type,  and  I  would 
add  somewhat  if  it  were  not  too  late.  My  critics  will  have 
the  more  to  say,  my  friends  the  more  to  forgive. 

Very  soon  after  I  had  written  the  last  chapter  except  one, 
the  all-wise  Chastiser  called  me  to  learn  submission  "by  the 
rod  of  his  wrath."  Severe  and  protracted  sickness,  from 
which  my  friends  feared  I  would  not  recover,  taught  me  to 
say  to  Him  who  brought  me  down  so  near  to  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death:  Do  with  me  what  seemeth  good  in 
Thy  sight  if  Thou  wnlt  only  let  me  hear  Thy  sweet  voice  of 
forgiveness  and  have  one  satisfying  vision  of  the  glory  and 
(6i6) 


^ 

i^ 

^?» 

■1  -■ 

^j2^ 

/ 

■'•T*^ 

^ 

X 

Rev.   David  Metheny,    M.    D. 


NEARING   THK  SUNSET.  617 

the  beauty  of  Him  about  whose  throne  John  saw  the  celes- 
tial rainbow.  From  the  mission  as  well  as  from  the  sick 
chamber  special  prayer  went  up  to  Him  who,  as  a  father, 
pities  His  children;  and  it  was  His  will  that  His  child  should 
recover.  No  physician  was  called.  There  was  no  hygienic 
physician  in  the  city,  and  we  could  not  risk  the  life  of  the 
sufferer  in  the  hands  of  any  doctor  who  depends  upon  drug- 
poison  medication.  The  divine  Healer  blessed  the  means 
used  by  my  own  loving  and  faithful  Rosamond  than  whom 
no  husband  ever  had  a  better  nurse. 

I  was  not  forgotten  by  my  sympathizing  friends  and 
brothers  in  the  ministry  some  of  whom  came  to  pray  with 
and  for  me.  And  from  some  at  a  distance  I  received  most 
precious  letters  of  good  cheer.  The  writers  can  not  know 
how  much  of  comfort  and  joy  God  was  pleased  to  impart 
through  their  instrumentality.  I^et  all  praise  be  ascribed  to 
Him  who  loves  His  own  unto  the  end. 

Among  the  many  who  visited  me  during  my  sickness  I 
should  make  special  mention  of  the  pastor  of  the  Baltimore 
Reformed  Presbyterian  congregation.  By  telegram  he  had 
learned  the  condition  of  his  distant  friend.  The  anxiety  of 
his  wife,  our  daughter,  urged  him  to  hasten  across  the  con- 
tinent to  the  sick  chamber  in  Oakland.  Before  his  arrival, 
however,  I  had  begun  to  convalesce.  He  remained  over 
a  week  and  preached  two  Sabbaths  in  the  mission,  and 
taught  in  the  night  school  most  of  the  evenings  of  the 
week.  By  what  he  saw  and  heard,  if  he  did  not  know  it 
before,  he  was  convinced  of  the  duty  of  the  church  to  prose- 
cute earnestly  the  good  work  among  the  Chinese  in  Cal- 
ifornia. 

During  my  sickness  I  received  the  sad  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  my  beloved  friend  and  brother.  Dr.  Metheny,  of 
Mersine,  Turkey.  It  was  not  altogether  unexpected,  but 
he  was  much  needed  in  the  home  as  well  as  in  the  mis- 


6lg  LOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

sion,'and  he  was  so  dear  to  me,  that  my  grief  could  scarcely 
be  assuaged.  Of  the  cords  that  bound  me  to  earth  one  of 
the  strongest  was  sundered;  and  in  common  with  his  many 
friends  and  the  whole  church  I  can  only  learn  to  say  to  her 
Head,  Thy  will  be  done. 

As  soon  as  I  was  sufficiently  restored  to  health  I  was 
again  pressed  into  work  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath  cause 
(which  in  this  state  means  more  than  in  any  other),  and 
again  took  mj^  place  in  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
state  association.  Within  a  few  months  important  changes 
in  the  personnel  of  the  committee  had  occurred.  Rev.  Dr. 
Willey,  last  year's  president  of  the  association,  had  removed 
from  the  city.  Rev.  John  Kimball  had  been  removed  by 
death;  and  Rev.  Dr.  Ketchum,  elected  president  for  this 
year,  had  been  called  to  a  pastorate  out  of  the  state.  Of  the 
several  leading  Christian  women  who  had  been  in  the  com- 
mittee at  different  times  only  two  remained,  viz.  Mrs.  Nellie 
B.  Eyster  and  Mrs.  R.  R.  Johnston.  Mrs.  Eyster  has  long 
been  an  active  worker  in  the  state  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  other 
fields  of  benevolence;  and  she  is  now  the  editor  of  the 
Pacific  EtisigJi,  the  weekly  organ  of  the  California  W.  C. 
T.  U.  As  an  active  member  of  the  union  and  as  a  laborer 
in  behalf  of  proper  Sabbath  observance,  she  and  Mrs.  John- 
ston have  long  been  warm  friends  and  co-workers.  As  a 
Eutheran  she  is  attached  to  her  own  church.  As  a  friend  of 
literature  and  in  the  use  of  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer  she  has 
few  compeers.  As  a  woman  of  culture  and  rare  vivacity, 
and  as  a  writer  and  editor,  she  has  had  much  influence  in 
reform  circles.  For  her  active  interest  in  the  Sabbath  cause 
its  friends  owe  her  much  gratitude;  and  though  she  is  often 
quite  erratic  in  her  sentiments  on  questions  involved  in  the 
Sabbath  reform,  the  standard  of  morals  and  of  religious  life 
in  California  would  be  very  much  higher  if  in  the  State 
there  were  more  Christian  women  like  her.     But  among  all 


NKARiNG  The;  sunset.  619 

the  good  women  of  California  "worth  knowing"  as  workers 
for  a  better-observed  Sabbath  I  know  of  none  so  worthy  of 
mention  as  Mrs.  Christine  Armstrong,  of  Salinas.  As  state 
superintendent  of  the  Department  of  Sabbath  Observance  of 
the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  and  in  accuracy  of  belief  on  all  Sabbath 
questions,  as  well  as  in  persevering  devotion  to  the  cause, 
she  has  no  peer  in  the  state. 

Among  all  the  remaining  and  faithful  members  of  the 
State  Executive  Committee  none  are  more  worthy  of  special 
mention  than  Rev.  Dr.  Alex.  Calhoun,  pastor  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Alameda.  Genial  in  temperament, 
courteous  and  gentlemanly  in  his  intercourse  with  his 
co-workers,  and  almost  always  accurate  in  his  opinions  as  to 
questions  involved  in  the  Sabbath  reform  in  California  (and 
not  ashamed  of  the  Covenanter  blood  in  his  veins) ,  during 
all  the  years  of  his  membership  in  the  committee  he  has 
been  a  most  reliable  standard-bearer  and  worthy  of  all  honor. 
I  hope  he  may  live  to  see  that  for  which  we  have  so  long 
labored  and  prayed — a  good  civil  law  in  California  to  help 
to  save  the  Golden  State  from  the  shame  and  threatened 
moral  desolation  resulting  from  the  toleration  of  all  kinds  of 
Sabbath  desecration. 

On  account  of  broken-down  health,  Elder  Jas.  Willson 
was  obliged  to  resign  the  superintendence  of  the  Oakland 
Chinese  mission.  Mrs.  Johnston  was  appointed  by  the 
Board  to  take  temporary  charge  of  the  work.  As  yet  no 
ministerial  missionary  had  been  appointed.  With  the  return 
of  health  I  was  glad  to  be  able  to  resume  my  voluntary 
preaching  service.  That  all  might  be  able  to  attend,  this 
service  was  held  in  the  evening.  When  there  were  many 
in  the  chapel  who  could  not  understand  the  Gospel  spoken 
in  English,  as  there  was  no  helper  in  the  mission  our  ever 
reliable  friend  and  brother,  Chung  Git,  acted  as  interpreter. 
He  was  baptized  about  twelve  years  ago,  has  been  a  growing 


620  l,OOK:iNG   BACK   FROM   TH©   SUNSET    I^AND. 

Christian,  and  he  has  long  been  an  active  and  useful  mem- 
ber of  the  mission.     He  is  also  a  successful  business  man; 
and  for  his  genial  disposition  and  kindness   of  heart   and 
generous  hand  as  well  as  his  lively  interest  in  the  cause  of 
missions,  he  has  many  warm  friends. 

As  there  was  no  missionary  in  charge,  near  eighteen 
months  had  passed  since  the  dispensation  of  the  sacrament 
of  the  Supper.  By  the  action  of  the  Board  and  of  the  min- 
isters of  the  Presbyter>^  I  was  authorized  to  hold  the  com- 
munion. I  endeavored  to  procure  the  assistance  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Armour,  of  Seattle,  but  was  disappointed. 

For  a  length  of  time  there  had  been  a  number  of  Chinese 
attending  the  mission  w^ho  were  regarded  as  candidates  for 
baptism.  Anxious  that  these  and  others  might  be  brought 
to  the  cross  of  Christ,  during  several  Sabbaths  I  preached  a 
series  of  discourses  designed  to  show  clearly  the  way  of 
salvation.  Special  meetings  for  instruction,  examination 
and  prayer  were  held  with  candidates  and  inquirers.  On 
the  evening  of  Friday,  Elder  John  M.  Flemming,  of  San 
Jose,  co-operating,  eight  of  the  candidates  were  adjudged  to 
be  penitent  believers  and  worthy  of  admission  to  the  church ; 
and  on  Saturday  evening  they  received  the  rite  of  Christian 
baptism.  On  Sabbath  these  eight,  together  with  three 
others  recently  baptized,  sat  at  the  communion  table  with 
the  other  and  former  converts  yet  resident  in  the  city,  all 
loving  and  rejoicing  disciples  of  the  lyord  Jesus.  Some  of 
the  older  members  say  that  it  was  the  largest  number  of 
Chinese  ever  together  at  any  communion  in  the  mission. 

The  entire  number  of  baptized  converts  from  the  first 
until  this  writing,  including  two  or  three  who  were  "received 
on  letter"  and  examination,  is  probably  about  sixty-five.  A 
large  majority  of  them  were  baptized  by  the  pioneer  and 
senior  missionary,  the  others  by  the  two  subsequent  mis- 
sionaries.    Probably  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  entire  number 


HEARING  THE   SUNSET.  521 


have  removed  to  other  places  or  lands  or  are  ^"  C^iina  or 
have  been  removed  to  the  land  of  silence;  so  that  at  this 
riJe  there  are  not  more  than  twenty-five  resident  members 
Toakland,  and  not  all  of  these  could  be  present  at  the 

^rshould  be  remembered,  moreover,  that  in  addition  to 
the  baptized  converts,  of  the  many  hundreds  who  from  time 
to  time  during  all  the  years  of  the  mission  heard  the  Go  pel 
preached,   or  attended   the   night  school    or  the  Sabbath- 
school,  many  were  weaned  from  idol-worship  and  from  open 
sin  and  accepted  Christianity  as  the  only  true  «hgK,n  but 
did  not  publicly  confess  Christ  in  our  mission.     Some  oi 
them,  however,  united  with  other  missions  »■•  churches  in 
Oaktand  or  elsewhere.     Thus  it  is  manifest  that  the  good 
done  in  this  or  any  Chinese  mission  is  not  to  be  estimat  d 
merely  by  the  number  of  baptized  converts.     No  one  can 
foresee  how  extensive  and  happy  may  be  the  results  of  the 
sowing  of  the  seed  of  the  kingdom.  ,     ,       ,■         f 

To  us  all  that  communion  season  was  indeed  a  time  ot 
joy  and  gladness.  The  text  of  the  "action  sermon  tha 
day  was,  ■'  Behold  the  man!"  Whether  it  is  to  be  my  last 
communion  it  is  not  given  to  know,  but  I  would  fondly 
hope  that  my  own  spiritual  growth  was  advanced  and  that 
my  own  soul  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour. 

The  real  Christian  character  of  these  Chinese  converts 
can  be  known  to  only  those  who  are  personally  and  intl- 
matelv  acquainted  with  them.  As  among  professors  of  all 
nationalities,  a  few  of  the  baptized  of  former  years  have 
showed  themselves  to  be  unworthy  of  membership  m  the 
church  or  to  be  weak  Christians;  but  the  most  of  them  will 
compare  favorably  with  Christian  professors  m  any  of  the 
churches.  Many  of  them,  moreover,  are  most  excellent 
men  some  of  them  model  Christians,  lovely  and  loymg  dis- 
ciples of  the  divine  Master.     Under  a  worthy  missionary 


622  IvOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

and  after  a  little  preparation  for  their  new  relations  and  new 
duties,  the  resident  Chinese  Covenanters  should  be  organized 
into  a  regular  congregation.  In  process  of  time,  and  per- 
haps soon,  American  Covenanters  will  be  added  to  the  new 
organization  and  a  good  congregation  grow  up  in  Oakland 
and  be  ready  to  call  a  pastor  to  feed  a  flock  having  among 
its  membership  no  caste  feeling.  Our  prayer  is  that  the 
enthroned  Mediator  may  hasten  the  day  when  all  such  feel- 
ing shall  cease  and  all  nations  call  Him  blesse  d. 

"  His  blessing  on  the  world  shall  rest. 
And  by  the  world  His  name  be  blest." 

And  now  though  the  spirit  may  be  willing  the  hand 
that  holds  this  pen  is  growing  weary.  To  the  writer  it 
will  soon  be  sunset;  but  his  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to 
God  is  that  his  surviving  friends  may  enjoy  many  days 
of  happy  sunshine  in  the  favor  of  Him  whose  ' '  loving- 
kindness  is  better  than  Hfe."  The  readers  and  the  writer 
must  soon  say  "good-night."  But  here  is  a  young  friend 
who  asks  my  "creed."  I  have  not  the  time  to  write  it;  the 
sunset  is  too  near.  My  creed?  Too  often  creeds  are  only 
floating  bubbles.  "Show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works, 
and  I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works."  Yet  I 
have  a  creed.  I  first  learned  it  from  my  mother,  and  then 
of  my  father  and  my  pastor.  Then  I  went  to  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  to  Jesus  and  Paul  and  John.  Then  I  summoned 
together  in  one  grand  council  the  early  fathers,  and  Luther, 
and  Calvin,  and  Knox,  and  the  Westminster  divines,  and 
then  Cameron  and  Renwick  and  McLeod.  But  with  one 
voice  they  all  sent  me  back  to  Jesus,  the  divine  Master  of 
them  all.  In  imagination  or  vision  I  sat  at  His  feet  as  He 
taught  in  the  temple.  I  asked  Him  to  help  me  to  write 
my  creed.  He  replied:  "Wait  until  you  can  write  it  with 
the  blood  of  My  cross."     I  waited,  then  wrote,  and  then 


NEARING   THE    SUNSET.  623 

sought  Him  after  His  resurrection  and  His  enthronement. 
I  showed  Him  my  creed.  He  said:  "Yes,  but  it  is  incom- 
plete. Add  to  it  what  you  call  the  sermon  on  the  mount 
and  the  Golden  Rule."  I  rejoiced  to  obey,  and  again 
showed  Him  my  written  creed;  and  again  He  said:  "Yes, 
but  yet  one  thing  more  is  needed.  With  that  same  blood 
of  the  cross  underscore  the  Golden  Rule  and  your  creed  will 
be  golden."  My  heart  and  hand  promptly  obeyed  my  divine 
Master;  and  then  on  the  italicized  lines  fell  a  golden  beam 
of  heavenly  light.  I  awoke  from  my  vision.  In  this  faith 
I  have  lived;  in  this  faith  I  hope  to  die.  In  humility  I 
would  try  to  obey  the  will  of  my  Lord  and  wait  for  His 
coming. 

My  life?  It  has  been  one  not  only  of  failures  and  mis- 
takes and  blunders  but  also  of  sins  great  and  manifold,  so 
that  my  hope  of  salvation  and  of  a  future  life  of  glory  and 
blessedness  is  founded  solely  upon  the  merits  of  the  atone- 
ment and  in  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  by  whose 
"grace  we  are  saved  through  faith."  Yet  with  almost 
trembling  hand  but  jo3''ous  heart  I  here  testify  that,  as  life's 
years  were  passing,  the  conviction  has  been  growing  upon 
me  that  of  all  the  studies  I  have  pursued  in  none  have  I 
had  such  interest  as  in  the  study  of  the  precious  Word  of 
God;  and  that  in  the  study  of  no  life  and  character  have  I 
had  such  ineffable  delight  as  in  the  study  of  the  matchless 
character  of  the  "Man  of  Galilee"  and  of  Him  whose 
"name  is  above  every  name,"  and  whose  priestly  and  royal 
robes  are  wrought  "for  glory  and  for  beauty."  Not  mine 
alone  is  this  conviction.  Many  contemporary  friends  can 
bear  the  same  testimony.  And  so  as  we  pass  along  towards 
the  city  celestial  let  us  look  from  the  land  of  Beulah  over  to 
the  other  side  of  the  river  to  behold  the  King  in  His  beauty; 
for  it  is  the  heritage  of  all  His  saints  to  see 


624  IvOOKING    BACK    FROM    THE    SUNSET    LAND. 

"  Beyond  the  glooms  and  mystery, 
Glimpses  of  glory,  not  far  away, 
Nearing  and  brightening  every  day; 
Golden  crystal  and  emerald  bow, 
Luster  of  pearl  and  sapphire  glow, 
Sparkling  river  and  healing  tree, 
Evergreen  palms  of  victory. 
Harp  and  crown  and  raiment  white, 
Holy  and  beautiful  dwellers  in  light; 
A  throne,  and  One  thereon  whose  face 
Is  the  glory  of  tliat  glorious  place." 

Miss  Havergal,  the  writer  of  the  above  lines,  had  an 
engraving  of  "an  old  man,  worn,  but  peaceful,  sitting  at  his 
cottage  door  in  evening  sunlight,  with  the  Book  on  his 
knee."  To  accompany  the  picture  as  it  hung  on  the  wall, 
and  tinder  the  sacred  words,  "At  evening-time  it  .shall  be 
light,"  she  wrote  six  beautiful  stanzas,  of  which  this  is  the 
last: 

"  And  now  my  loving  Jesus  is  my  Light  at  eventide, 
The  welcome  Guest  that  enters  in  forever  to  abide; 
He  never  leaves  me  in  the  dark,  but  leads  me  all  the  way, — 
So  it  is  light  at  evening  time,  and  soon  it  will  be  day." 

"Unto  Him  that  loved  us,  and  wa.shed  us  from  our  sins 
in  His  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
God  and  His  Father;  to  Him  be  the  glory  and  the  dominion 
forever  and  ever.     Amen." 


27164 


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